The last trade show I attended – the annual American Association of Meat Processors convention – was in that marvelous but brief moment of time after the COVID cases started to drop but before the Delta variant took over the country. Mask mandates are back, at least in some cities and states. So as a result, I had to load up on masks in order to walk the numerous aisles of Pack Expo Las Vegas this week.
There were a few takeaways from the show. The first one was that mask mandates work. Of the 20,000+ people in the Las Vegas Convention Center, the overwhelming majority – above 99% – were wearing masks to comply with the city’s policy. Meetings were held, purchases were made, hands were shook, fists were bumped, and practically all of it was done with masks. Frankly, I’m a middle-aged guy with pandemic poundage, working at a job that requires me to be in front of a computer most of the day. My normal activity level is just slightly above “comatose,” so if I can walk 10,000 steps in a day with a mask and not drop dead from the exertion, than the supposed dangers of mask-wearing may be overblown.