Hacker News Reader

Perhaps some, and I think the examples you give of staying home when sick are great ones. I also hope wearing masks when sick stays socially acceptable.

That said, this "hyper sterilization" mindset is not appropriate if we're not in a pandemic. Copious hand sanitizer, social distancing, masks when not sick, limiting crowds, etc. are not needed when we're not in a pandemic and they have huge downsides for society.

Not getting sick at all this year has been an ironic benefit of measures to deal with the pandemic.

And when you've got a respiratory infection, wear a mask.