COVID cases have been declining significantly in the United States, and many places have returned to normal— or are at least on their way to it. After a year and a half of constant worry and stress about how the pandemic affects everyone’s lives, there is finally a light at the end of the tunnel. The question is: just how far away is that light?

More than half of U.S. adults have been vaccinated, with more than 261 million doses having been distributed. Many states such as Texas and Florida have lifted their mask mandates, requiring masks only in places that ask people to wear them. South Carolina has just officially repealed the use of masks everywhere, even in schools.

This comes as a surprise that many highly populated states have lifted their mandates over the ones with lower population counts. However, there is a general consensus between most or all states that COVID has no right to ruin any more time than it already has. It is a race to the finish line as governments decide when it will be safe enough to return to normal.

“In April, I visited Alabama, and absolutely nobody was wearing a mask, unless they wanted to by choice. There were no signs that told us to wear them, or even signs that suggested them. On the beach, no chairs were spaced out, and there was no limit on how many people could swim in pools. I would say that everything is back to normal because when I visited, it was like COVID never happened,” junior Elise Newman said.

But Elise was not only one to experience a breath of normalcy at the expense of a lack of COVID regulations.

“My wife and I went to a softball game a couple weeks ago at a local ballpark, and no one was wearing masks. There was not a whole lot of social distancing going on either,” Mr. Duncan also stated.

For the fourth week in a row, the COVID cases in the U.S. have dropped 17%. This number has not been this low since last September, and more than half of people with COVID have made a full recovery.

That might not seem like a huge advancement, but it certainly is compared to countries like Italy, who saw the worst of the pandemic, and India whose cases continue to climb by the thousands everyday with no signs of stopping. Schools are even getting in on this movement by finally allowing students to go to school five days a week with sports, and removing contact tracing protocols.

Clearly, this is a drastic change from when COVID was controlling everyone’s lives. U.S. citizens are now pushing to return to normal and to stop giving a free pass to COVID for putting so many things on hold. It is finally America’s time to stand up and fight back to be able to live a normal life again.