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Vancouverites divided on B.C. lifting the mask mandate March 11, many will continue to mask up

"Don’t be mean to people wearing masks. Don’t be mean to people not wearing masks. It’s simple."
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Face masks will no longer be mandatory in most indoor settings in B.C. as of March 11, 2022.

As of 12:01 a.m. on Friday, March 11, 2022, face masks are no longer mandatory in most indoor settings across British Columbia. 

But is everyone breathing a sigh of relief? And will many continue to don the non-medical face coverings in some or all indoor situations? 

According to a poll run by V.I.A., about 42 per cent of local respondents indicated they would either continue to mask up across the board (20.67 %) or at least put on a mask in some situations (21.88 %). 

Conversely, 37.50 % of poll respondents in Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­said they would like to burn their masks altogether with the mandate gone, while 19.71 % indicated they don't wear a mask now anyhow. (You can see the results in full below.)

While the B.C. mask mandate is no more as of March 11, some locations will still require people to wear face masks, such as in health care settings. TransLink will continue its mandatory mask requirement for customers and employees on HandyDART at this time, the transit agency indicated on March 10, noting that drivers and passengers on all other TransLink vehicles can opt to wear masks but they will no longer be required.

Some businesses and workplaces may also have a mask mandate in place, however, "most low-risk locations will now be an option and no longer a necessity," said Dr. Bonnie Henry, B.C.'s public health officer, on March 10. 

As news of the mask mandate lifting hit social media, V.I.A. tracked responses by people in and around Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­on Twitter, and the sentiments are similarly mixed. Here's a sample of what people are saying online about the end of the indoor mask requirement in B.C.:

 
 

Sounds like some folks from other parts of B.C. are distrustful of Vancouverites:

Poll results: If B.C. drops the mask mandate in March, will you continue to mask up?

Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­ polled 1140 Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­ readers and asked the question: If B.C. drops the mask mandate in March, will you continue to mask up?

The poll ran from 3/9/2022 to 3/10/2022. Of the 1140 votes, we can determine that 416 are from within the community. The full results are as follows:

Yes, I will continue wearing my mask the same as before 20.67 % local, 14.65 % total    
Somewhat. I will opt to wear my mask if I feel ill or when I'm in certain situations 21.88 % local, 16.58 % total    
No, I would like to burn my masks and never wear one again 37.50 % local, 45.70 % total    
I don't wear masks now 19.71 % local, 22.46 % total    
I'm not sure 0.24 % local, 0.61 % total    
  Local   Total

Results are based on an online study of adult Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­ readers that are located in Vancouver. The margin of error - which measures sample variability - is +/- 2.9%, 19 times out of 20.

Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­ uses a variety of techniques to capture data, detect and prevent fraudulent votes, detect and prevent robots, and filter out non-local and duplicate votes.