When can the COVID-19 masks finally come off?

Amid the turmoil of the past two years - a period that included a deadly pandemic, mass layoffs, an ugly presidential election and an attack on the U.S. Capitol - some of the fiercest political debates in America have been waged over a nearly weightless piece of fabric: the face mask.

U.S. officials were slow to embrace face masks as a strategy for slowing the spread of the coronavirus. When they finally did, masks became a potent symbol of the pandemic - a common-sense public health measure turned political flashpoint and a visible reminder that life was anything but normal.

Now, with the summer's delta surge in the rearview mirror and the vaccination of school-age children underway, many Americans are wondering when the masks might finally come off.

https://www.startribune.com/when-can-the-covid-19-masks-finally-come-off/600118921/