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Hurrah ... face masks are to be optional. But they still have uses

Nancy Durrant

HALLELUJAH! Praise be, hurl them to the four winds etc, face masks are to become optional (there’s a loaded word) from next Thursday as part of a grand throwing-off of restrictions against Covid-19, which killed around 2,000 people in the last week.

I can’t pretend, despite this last slightly awkward point, that the thought of taking the bloody thing off doesn’t flood me with relief. It will be too soon if I never again have to inhale that now depressingly familiar, faintly sweet and sour perfume unique to a reusable face mask that has been reused once, maybe twice, too often. But it’s going to be a messy break-up. Like those people who called it a day during lockdown then spent the next two months navigating singledom in the same tiny flat as their once-beloved, we can’t quite leave the mask behind just yet.

And not only because TfL is still insisting we wear them on the Tube (which I’m totally down with. It’s pretty rank down there and I’m not an idiot). I feel like we’ve developed an attachment, we’ve got used to them somehow. I’ll still spend a whole train journey huffing and puffing in mine, thinking I’m practically suffocating, then realise once I’m nearly home that I’ve walked 10 minutes from the station without noticing that I’m still wearing it.

Besides, they could come in handy.

Since well before the pandemic I’ve admired the practice common in China of wearing a face mask on public transport when you have a cold to protect fellow passengers. It demonstrates exactly the kind of civic responsibility that the Government is pretending they believe we’re all so good at, so perhaps they should instigate a campaign to do just that. At least it would then mean that if you’ve been deranged enough to spend £110 on a Burberry face covering, you might get something approaching your money’s worth.

But what impact will the Great Mask Removal have on the wider economy? In my own area, the arts, that’s unclear. It is true that the end of mandatory home working will bring more punters into town, but it seems likely most venues will continue to ask audiences to wear face coverings, at least for now. This is a good thing — that consistency makes a big difference to people who would otherwise feel nervous about booking. Audiences are keen to return — once the fear of ruining Christmas was past, the woes of live shows over the last month have been related mostly to Covid among the casts.

On Tuesday I saw a ballet which had shifted by a week due to the havoc wrought on rehearsals by positive cases. Last night I saw a show I’ve been trying to get into since December — cancelled twice at the last minute. Both times every seat was taken, and everyone was dutifully masked. So for now, if it encourages people to get on with life and see art, I will continue to wear the blasted thing. But my God I’ll love it when I can put it away more or less for good. Once I’ve thoroughly washed it, of course.

THE pop behemoth and fashion icon that is Harry Styles, below, has finally announced the ongoing dates for his Love on Tour, erm, tour. The 42-date US leg, which happened last year, grossed just under

$95 million. Tickets go on sale next week, with support from artists including Arlo Parks and Mitski. The country’s watermelon sugar levels just rocketed. But wait! Embarrassingly eagerly scouring the dates — considering I can only actually really name one of his songs — I find only four in Britain and Ireland. Just the four (and only one in London)? From one of our most successful exports? Brazil and Mexico get three each! (I know they’re bigger, that’s not the point). “I’m so excited to see you. Thank you, I love you. H,” the pixie prince of pop tweeted yesterday. Do you Harry? Do you really? Because I’m feeling rather hurt.

Most arts venues will still ask punters to wear masks, and that’s a good thing if it encourages them to return

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2022-01-20T08:00:00.0000000Z

2022-01-20T08:00:00.0000000Z

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