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“But,” he said, “the governor kind of jumped ahead of us.” Henry said the FIA had been planning to relax its regulations around mandatory masks and temperature checks on July 1. Maybe they just feel more comfortable with it.” “I think a lot of people just have decided that it doesn’t hurt to don a mask in public places. “I’d say about half and half are still wearing their masks,” executive director John Henry said of the museum’s morning guests June 22. While diners and gym-goers were happy to shed their masks, guests at the Flint Institute of Arts (FIA) didn’t immediately do the same. It’s such a small circle and community.” The pair said they trust their members after witnessing how considerate everyone was toward each other during the height of the pandemic. “If they want to wear a mask, wear a mask.

“We want everyone to feel comfortable,” he said, holding one of the couple’s 4-month old twins on his lap.

Jake Saldaña said the pair had already started letting vaccinated members remove their masks at their workout stations, but they’ll continue to allow members to make their own call on wearing a mask. The Saldañas and their gym members enjoyed the outdoor option so much they now plan to build a deck on the side of the gym and add an awning to the patio to make it usable year-round. The couple had built a concrete patio in the front of the building, which backs up to Chevy Commons, to allow for safe workouts during the pandemic. “I still want to see people outside,” Ashleigh Saldaña said. “I still sanitize my hands after everything I do,” he said.Īt Sal’s Gym, owners Jake and Ashleigh Saldaña said they believe some of their Covid-era developments will also stick around even though masks and capacity restrictions are gone. However, he also isn’t fully done with practicing Covid precautions. The younger Teare said he’s glad to return to a “sense of normalcy” as well. Teare’s son, Jeff, sat alongside him at the bar. I guess it’s a reflex,” he said, chuckling. “Whenever I go to the bank or the store I’ll still put my mask on. Teare is vaccinated and said he feels safe being indoors and unmasked, but he thinks it might be a little longer before he gets used to the change. “It’s just nice to get back to normal,” he said. Rob Teare, 70, a Luigi’s regular, said he’s happy the mask mandate has been lifted.

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People were hugging and taking photos together, the lower portions of their faces on full display. “It seems kind of awkward,” he said.īut surveying his lunchtime crowd, the atmosphere felt anything but awkward. He said there wasn’t really a transition period.

“But now all of a sudden, the prospect of not wearing a mask and being exposed to people and not having any restrictions? It’s like a light switch.” Instead, he said, “It’s just hard to tell what human nature is going to do.” Beaubien said in his experience, no one had wanted to wear a mask. Though he’d had a long battle with COVID-19 himself, it wasn’t the illness that concerned him. But the prior afternoon he was apprehensive about what the capacity and mask mandate changes might mean for his business. Tom Beaubien, co-owner of Luigi’s, was all smiles. The tables at the center of the room were scattered with half-finished Bud Lights, their buyers too busy greeting each other at the taco station to drink them.

With the exception of one waitress, no one was wearing a mask. Flint, MI-Looking around the main dining room of Luigi’s Restaurant on Tuesday, June 22–the day Michigan returned to full capacity and lifted its mask and social distancing requirements–the COVID-19 pandemic seemed a distant memory.īooths lining the room’s perimeter were filled with guests eating meatball sandwiches and slices of margherita pizza.