So, the OP asks what we feel about Covid restrictions being lifted. I have already said what I think re the vulnerable, now I will talk about what it mean to me and my family.
My closest family members (6 people) and myself have all had Covid. I got it very early on and had it much worse than the others. The others (except 1) had all been double vaccinated when they caught it, so only had a flu like illness, lasting 10 days. 4 months on the one who hadn't been vaccinated at all still has no sense of taste or smell. The others regained theirs quickly. So, for me and mine I am glad the restrictions have been lifted. It's a relief to be able to plan things again and not have them cancelled at the last minute. I do wish LFTs were still going to be available free though, as regardless of what others have said, my family have always found them to be accurate. No false positives, all positives were backed up by PCR tests. It was interesting to see the pink line gradually fade when they tested towards the end of the infection too.
Yes, the restrictions have caused chaos in people's lives, and some won't ever get over the effects of them. I wish we had waited maybe a month longer to give the NHS more chance to catch up with the ever growing waiting lists for urgent and not so urgent care.
Re masks. I understand that they aren't 100% effective against covid but I am convinced they do help to lessen the severity of the infection. I read a comment months ago saying that if you could still smell cigarette smoke through a mask then covid could also get through. Agreed, but I will still take my mask to use in public places where people are smoking. I have found that even my cloth mask cuts out enough smoke (and vapes too) to stop me having an asthmatic wheeze. At a football match a few years back someone let off a flare about 10 metres away from me. I struggled to breathe. A few weeks ago someone let a flare off just 2 metres from me (boy was that close!) and I managed to hold my breath until I hurriedly put my mask on. I found that although I could still smell it, a large amount of the smoke was kept out by the mask and it didn't affect my chest and airways at all. So, I don't subscribe to the research/opinions that masks don't protect from covid at all. They don't offer full protection, I agree, but partial protection may well be enough to reduce the viral load enough to stop someone getting seriously ill with covid.
The problem I found with masks when they were compulsory was that in places that you really needed them (on the tube and in a crowded museum for example) they were uncomfortable and made breathing difficult, so I sympathised with anyone who needed to use crowded public transport regularly. In the open air it was easier to wear a mask, but we didn't really need them there.
My mask is also useful in the supermarket, it stops me getting a cough in the freezer aisle lol. So I won't be disposing of it anytime soon.
So all in all, for myself, I am glad we are getting back to 'normal' - whatever that is.