Many people are familiar with the chart showing the seasons of Vermont created by the Barnard General Store. Those seasons are:
Winter, Fool’s Spring, Second Winter, Spring of Deception, Third Winter, Mud Season, Actual Spring, Summer, False Fall, Second Summer and Actual Fall.
As Vermont lifts most remaining COVID restrictions and regulations, it feels a little bit like we’re in either Fool’s Spring or the Spring of Deception. It’s amazing and hopeful to feel like we might have rounded the bend and are headed back to pre-March 2020 normalcy.
And it’s pretty scary and hard to believe that after a very long slog, this might have ended. The COVID case numbers coming out of Europe, China and elsewhere indicate yet another wave of the virus is coming with hospitalizations on the rise and deaths increasing.
Is it reasonable to hope that the arrival of any of Vermont’s three versions of spring, (or mud season) coupled with high vaccination rates and a lot of natural immunity after the Omicron variant, is enough to keep us safe?
Governor Scott’s administration at this week’s press conference suggested that it is reasonable to have that hope and that people should feel free to return to pre-pandemic life. Exercise your best judgment they said. Respect people who want to wear masks.
Locally, towns with mask rules have let those rules expire or rescinded them (but businesses can still require them). Kids can again practice together in band and rehearse together on stage. Parents can attend sporting events.
This is a brave new (old) world after 24 months of COVID precautions. It’s not going to be a seamless transition for many people. Last June, after Vermont lifted its state of emergency and people went to the grocery store unmasked once or twice, case rates picked up and we entered a very long period masking and precautions that lasted through False Fall, Second Summer, Actual Fall, Winter, etc.
Here’s hoping for actual spring and a safe return to normalcy.
