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In the past month and a half, Greenville appears to have emerged from hibernation with a host of events tailored to the general public as many return to the closest thing to normalcy any of us likely have had since prior to the start of the pandemic.

Happenings such as Camellia City Fest, the Butler County Fair, and the city’s Bicentennial Celebration drew large crowds eager to celebrate and enjoy a sense of community with family, friends, and neighbors.

As we continue to participate in publicly-held events, we must exhibit caution as not only do coronavirus variants continue to pose problems, particularly for those who are unvaccinated or have underlying health issues, the drop in temperature fall brings coincides with cold and flu season.

We’ve come a long way from lockdowns, mask mandates, and other restrictions put in place in the interest of public safety. While those restrictions may have felt cumbersome to some of the population, those actions were necessary as we collectively attempted to lessen the spread of the coronavirus.

Moving forward in a world with less restrictions, we have to rely on others or trust them to take precautions to keep themselves and others safe. 

Employers should encourage their employees to stay home if they’re sick in order to protect fellow employees and the general public if their job requires a large degree of public interaction.

While we may not be completely out of the woods when it comes to the coronavirus and its variants, we can at least see beyond the trees.

May we all be cautious, but continue to enjoy the upcoming offerings our city has in store for us.