Monday shoppers surely jumped at the sight of something which has not been visible inside a store for more than two years: Faces. As mask mandates officially ended in most settings today, retailers around Thorold were among those to notice a shift – or at least the new reality of masks no longer being legally required to wear.
“I think it’s never going to be a great time to drop them,” said Lee Alford at the Old Fashioned Barber Shop. “But at the same time, it feels great to move forward from this.”
To forego any insecurities from customers, the shop now displays a sign which states that it is up to each and everyone to make their own decisions on wether they wish to keep the mask on.
“It’s about making sure people know that they can be comfortable in here, no matter what they chose to do,” Alford said.
Across the street, Shannon Passero was heading in to the Post Office to get her employees reactions to the new rules and what customers had said.
“The staff gets to choose what they want to do, mask or no mask,” Passero said. “We have been following the recommendations from the Retail Council all along, and just want everyone to be safe.”
At Creekview Floral, owner Lydia Rekrut and Rachel Robles were preparing arrangements behind the counter, masks up.
“We’ll keep them on in here,” Rekrut said. “Some people around us are at greater risk and my husband is a first responder, so we have really been keeping on top of it.”
At Marr’s Foodland on Pine St. Plaza, most mid-day shoppers were seen wearing face coverings as they roamed the aisles, a cashier noting that it had been ‘somewhat of a 60/40-split, with most wearing masks still.’
