With coronavirus cases skyrocketing across the state and nation this fall, some health experts are placing the blame on “COVID fatigue.”
People are tired and aren’t taking mitigation measures as seriously as before, U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams told NPR last week.
Locally, Lynn’s Public Health Director Michele Desmarais attributes much of the city’s surge over the past couple of months to the same phenomenon.
It’s been nine months into the pandemic, and the restrictions that have accompanied it, and more people are itching to socialize with friends and family outside of their households, Desmarais told The Item last week.
“I think that there are a lot of people who are social gathering whether it’s family parties or the holiday season’s upon us,” said Desmarais. “I really just believe it’s COVID fatigue. People are tired of not being able to go out. People are tired of not being able to socialize. It’s changed their whole way of life.”
Several North Shore residents who were interviewed at three COVID-19 testing sites on Thursday said adhering to virus restrictions for so long has started to become emotionally exhausting.
“I’m so done with it,” said Cheryl McGrath, 56, of Saugus. “I’m done with the masks. I’m done. I can’t wait for the vaccine. My poor kids are in school. They can’t even play sports. It’s senior year for my daughter and she’s missing out on a lot.”
Everyone’s tired of it, said McGrath, who acknowledged that some people were becoming complacent as a result. For example, she said people are gathering too much and are often walking around without wearing face masks.
“I’m tired of COVID,” admits Nicoly Navarro, 19, who waited in line for more than two hours at the drive-through testing site at the Saugus Square One Mall on Thursday afternoon.
“My mom had it so now I’m pretty sick. I want to go to work,” said Navarro, of Peabody, explaining that she hasn’t been able to go to work for the past two weeks.
Since Navarro works with kids at a daycare center, she has been getting tested once a week. It was her fourth time at the Saugus testing site alone, she said.
“I’m always getting tested,” said Navarro.
Swampscott resident Danielle Murr also talked about being sick of the virus as she waited for her COVID test at the town’s drive-through site, which is located at the First Church-Congregational on Monument Avenue.
“It’s just very hard on people for a number of reasons,” said Murr.
Murr, 43, said it has been hard to strike a balance between two different attitudes, which she said consisted of wanting to keep people safe and healthy, but also not wanting others to lose their jobs, homes and livelihoods.
In addition, she said dealing with all of the arguing that has accompanied the virus has been exhausting. A lot of that disagreement has involved opposing viewpoints on whether masks are effective in curbing the spread of the coronavirus, she said, noting that many of the arguments have occurred on social media.
Many people have become more relaxed when it comes to following COVID-19 restrictions, she said. Although Swampscott had a mask mandate in certain areas before the state made the face coverings mandatory in all public places, Murr said a lot of people are pulling their masks down when they’re socially distanced from others.
“(It’s) not everybody, but there’s definitely a good amount of people who are just over it,” said Murr.
Lynn resident Danny Hurtado said through a translator that he was tired of the pandemic because of all of the mandatory rules that he now has to follow, particularly having to wear a mask everywhere.
Hurtado, 26, who was waiting for a COVID test at Lynn Community Health Center, said he was also exhausted from the anxiety that has accompanied living through a pandemic.
“I’m looking forward to lessening everything that’s happening,” said Hurtado.
“This pandemic’s not good,” added Lynn resident Emma Garcia through a translator. “People can’t leave (the house) like before without fear and doing tests all the time. People work and you have to take a test. Things are not the same as before.”
However, Revere resident Lindsay Lockwood said she was happy to keep following COVID restrictions if her compliance was helping to keep people safe.
“If it’s something I can do, just to wear a mask and make sure I’m washing my hands more than I would have to keep someone from getting sick, I’m happy to do it,” said Lockwood.
