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As the weather gets warmer and more people are getting outside, it feels like more and more people are acting as if the coronavirus pandemic is in the rearview mirror and is gone forever.

We certainly wish that was the case.

Experts keep telling us that we’re only a few weeks away from a drastic turn in the number of cases nationwide, if you factor in that almost 3 million people are being vaccinated per day. Think about that.

The light is literally at the end of the tunnel, and we can see it.

Our worry is that people are relaxing too soon — shedding the masks too soon. We urge you not to do that.

Yes, the weather is warmer. Yes, Troup County’s COVID-19 numbers are much better and have stayed around the single digits for the last few weeks. That’s fantastic.

But we’re not at the end, not yet. People across the country are still getting sick from COVID-19, and although less people are dying, this is still a pandemic that is impacting the entire world.

We’re all ready for sold-out concerts, raucous football stadiums and to be able to shake hands again without second-guessing it.

Let’s not blow this. Wear a mask, please, until we can get officially get past COVID-19.