Tired of Covid? Fine. But don’t shame the mask

We should think of face masks as umbrellas. We can pull a mask out when we need one. — Dreamstime/TNS

A FEW days before attending a small gathering of friends, I came down with cold, allergy, flu or possibly Covid-19 symptoms.

It was at the beginning of what had become a summer surge of Covid-19 cases in the United States, and though I had tested negative for the virus twice over 48 hours, I decided it was still better to not attend. My daughter, who had no symptoms, wanted to go. So when I dropped her off, I wore a mask.