It looks like the Hub City could be one step closer to another milestone in the fight to return to normal in a post-COVID-19 world.

Last week, Texas Governor Greg Abbott remarked at a news conference in Corpus Christi that he was looking into a timeline for lifting most of the coronavirus pandemic restrictions that have been set for the state, including the mask mandate that's been in place since July 2020.

When asked about lifting restrictions as more Texans are vaccinated, the governor stated:

"We're working right now on evaluating when we're gonna be able to remove all statewide orders, and we will be making announcements about that pretty soon."

No firm date was discussed as to the possible easing of restrictions, but one could speculate that an order could come as early as Tuesday the 2nd, when the Governor is due to speak in Lubbock, and especially since Governor Abbott has expressed optimism that more and more vaccines are headed to Texas. That should help get the state's residents on a faster track to reach herd immunity.

Even without the governor's comments, simply being out in public shows that Lubbockites are feeling more confident that the pandemic has eased, or that being vaccinated is helping return life to normal.

At a major shopping retailer this past weekend, I observed that the ratio of masks to no masks was about 3:1. And many who were still wearing masks were not wearing them correctly (i.e. wearing them below the nose). I noticed the same situation at a well-known grocery store in South Lubbock, too.

Are West Texans ready for life after COVID-19? Once mask mandates are lifted, how many area residents will still chose to wear a mask, even if it's not required?

There are many different sides to this debate, and only time will tell if lifting mandates is the best idea at this juncture. Either way, it's apparent that people are ready to get back to normal -- whatever "normal" is anymore.

LOOK: Answers to 30 common COVID-19 vaccine questions

While much is still unknown about the coronavirus and the future, what is known is that the currently available vaccines have gone through all three trial phases and are safe and effective. It will be necessary for as many Americans as possible to be vaccinated in order to finally return to some level of pre-pandemic normalcy, and hopefully these 30 answers provided here will help readers get vaccinated as soon they are able.

LOOK: Just some of the photos that capture the historic year that was 2020

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