Covid level 2 again but new rules are causing doubt and confusion

Face masks still a necessity in Level 2 - photograph by Bevan Conley, Whanganui Chronicle.

The rules have changed somewhat from the last time we were here, with one of the major changes causing some real community angst.

At alert level 2, there are no restrictions on who can be in your household bubble.

You can go to work, and all businesses and services can open but legally must follow public health rules.

Mask use has been mandated, which means all workers in customer-facing roles must wear a mask.

It also means that everybody aged 12 and over needs to be wearing masks when on public transport, inside retail businesses and public venues such as libraries.

The rules seem pretty straight forward and easy to follow, however for some in the community, because of physical or other health issues, mask wearing is not feasible.

The fallout over this has been quite significant, with those affected taking to social media asking the community to be aware that some of the seemingly non-compliant mask wearers may actually have an exemption.

Local woman, Geena, posted the following on a Levin community Facebook page the day after Level 4 lockdown started: "I am exempt from wearing a mask and proved this at the supermarket door. Then I was asked by more than one employee where my mask was. I explained and proved my exemption again.

"The glares and mutters from other staff and customers was understandable due to just seeing me without a mask and not knowing I'm exempt.

"It also made my anxiety go through the roof, which is another reason for exemption as if I panic I can't breathe normally let alone under a mask."

At that stage Geena had not managed to source an exemption card, and online shopping was not an option for her family.

The response to her post was predominantly negative and nasty so, despite her exemption, Geena has not gone mask-less since as she felt it wasn't worth the drama and the abuse on her post made her panic even more than wearing a mask did.

Another post on the same community page last Sunday showed that some people still don't have a full grasp of the rules around mask-wearing:

"Today my son and I witnessed an irate lady complaining about children not wearing masks, her arguement went along the lines of ' if we have to wear one, they should too'.

"This woman's behaviour was [unacceptable] and caused unnecessary panic to my [10-year-old autistic] son who thought he was doing something wrong."

The Levin mum said it was the first time she and her son had been in a shop together in level 2 and was disappointed a staff member engaged with the complainant rather than correcting her.

"Some children look older then they are and if they're under 12 they don't 'legally' have to wear a mask," she said. "People need to educate themselves and understand the rules."

As a community we need to remember that not all disabilities are visible and we are all trying to deal with this "new normal" the best we can.