In October 2020, a walk through a New England park might lead you past a battalion of busy squirrels, a smattering of leaves just beginning to redden or yellow, and a trail of discarded, single-use masks. Public spaces today are littered with crumpled face coverings and tattered disposable gloves. The cast-offs look like limp, oversized confetti the morning after New Year’s. They’re leftovers of a long, agonizing affair that no one wanted to attend. After more than six months of social-distancing protocols, millions of people continue to don personal protective…
