Morrisons to ban shoppers who refuse to wear face masks

[MrsMando]

www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-55618408

Where are all of these people pretending to be exempt and refusing to wear a mask hiding anyway? Whenever I go out 99.9% of people have been wearing a mask.

@NiceGerbil

I have read quite a lot about rape / CSA victims who get a trauma response to their faces being covered like this.

I don't they they should have to stay indoors until ??? and I don't think they should have to explain it to all and sundry.

Do we care about people who are vulnerable for whatever reason, or not?

Or is it just some reasons that are ok and if they don't fit the criteria (sorry you should be over that by now/ not my problem) they should be put away from society.

So if they get a trauma response from something else Say a particular aftershave do we ban that?
If they have genuine exemption they could get a drs letter anyway

I think, and I say this as someone with a disability, it should've been handled differently from the start.

Everyone is different and not being able to wear a mask doesn't always indicate increased vulnerability to the virus, we shouldn't be, in essence, shutting people away because of, for example, their mental health, preventing them from wearing a mask comfortably.

There should've been something sorted at the start for those who genuinely can't wear a mask, to get some kind of exemption certificate. Unfortunately this didn't happen and now we're left dealing with entitled people abusing a system meant to make life easier for those who need it.

@ToadsThePeanutButterSnob are you in Scotland? I've never seen anyone without a mask either!

@MercyBooth

Hancock bought a load of masks that were useless for the NHS because they have ear loops not tie backs. Why havent they been distributed to poorer families. Its not impossible in the 2020s surely. Just use DWP records.

who is going to be going round knocking on doors dishing those out?

I have a lanyard that I got from my local shop, with their name on it. I only go to 3 shops, none of them are supermarkets.
I live in my own, if I didn't go out at all I would have no human interaction and would be suicidal, yes, that's dramatic but it's the truth.
I won't go to my local Sainsbury's, Lidl or Waitrose because even on a good day a panic attacks is not far away.
My lanyard currently hangs out of my coat pocket so it's always visible and I don't stand any closer than 2m if I can help it.
If I could find a mask that doesn't make me feel like I'm being smothered if wear it. 3 different types so far have not worked.

[quote jrb123]@ToadsThePeanutButterSnob are you in Scotland? I've never seen anyone without a mask either![/quote]
Not in Scotland but I am in the north east so close enough I guess .

I do see the occasional person not wearing one (and 9 times out of 10 they have sunflower card) but it is very rare. Yet everyone online seems to overrun with maskless shoppers killing everyone in the supermarket .

@ToadsThePeanutButterSnob

I'm sick of having to put myself at risk because of someone who bought a bloody lanyard online (my job requires less than 2m and often touching the face).

Perhaps you should stay at home then and have your shopping delivered.

Errr, did you miss the 'while working' part.

You might not have got it from my post, but given that I am touching people- I cannot work from home.

I don't believe it is unreasonable of me to insist somebody wears a mask if they want my help.

@NiceGerbil to be frank, I do think that’s a tenuous link. There’s plenty of things that can be triggering to a victim of abuse. If a mask paralyses them to such an extent, they should be provided alternative provisions until we’re over the worst of it like the shielding group. Vulnerable people you describe can still be a vector of the disease, and then in turn impact other people with different vulnerabilities by spreading the virus. It’s clear that the English approach to the virus to date has been poor, meanwhile other countries that were stricter have already sailed through the worst of it.

*be overrun.

I live abroad. There are no exemptions...you have to wear a mask in shops and have had to for months...children from Reception up have to wear them at all times at school too...

Nobody likes wearing them but it is what it is..were used to it and have to get on with it. We also have to wear them while walking...which is especially difficult in the current hot weather..

@MercyBooth I work in theatres and unless we have a patient on the table in which case we wear n95 masks we wear masks with a loop for ears not tie backs.

I wonder if Morrison’s challenge someone what happens if they say ‘I’m exempt’ just like now really... I don’t see the change here?

Errr, did you miss the 'while working' part.

You might not have got it from my post, but given that I am touching people- I cannot work from home.

I don't believe it is unreasonable of me to insist somebody wears a mask if they want my help.

I think if you're that paranoid about covid you should stay at home.

I mean, people who are unable to wear masks are constantly told they need to stay at home regardless of whether they need to go to work or not...so maybe the situation needs to turned around for a bit and the people who are just paranoid should be told to stay at home instead .

My sister lives abroad. No mask, no entry.

I live in Central Europe and it is mandatory to wear masks in the streets now, as well as in shops and on public transport. No mask, you won’t be allowed in the shop or on the bus. I don’t know what happens with people who genuinely can’t wear a mask, but online shopping is pretty good here.

I was back in London the other week, and out of 12 people on a bus I caught, only two were wearing masks. Mask compliance was also low in shops. The vast majority of those not wearing masks were BAME, which surprised me, given the higher risk.

Where I live, the numbers have dropped hugely - more than halved from November’s figures, and now around 30-40 cases per 100,000. The number of deaths has also halved. November was when mask wearing everywhere became compulsory. We’ve also had complete lockdown and a curfew. Drastic measures, but they seem to be working.

So if they get a trauma response from something else Say a particular aftershave do we ban that?
If they have genuine exemption they could get a drs letter anyway

Its easier to avoid/move away from an aftershave. Its harder to avoid ever being in public especially now they are making masks mandatory outside too.

GPs do not provide exemption letters, believe me, enough people have asked for them. They dont have time to be doing this.

Also someone mentioned cost above...I live in a 3rd world country and everyone owns a mask/s, no matter what their financial situation..

@ToadsThePeanutButterSnob

Where are all of these people pretending to be exempt and refusing to wear a mask hiding anyway? Whenever I go out 99.9% of people have been wearing a mask.

This. ^

I must be in an area of high compliance. I was in Morrisons today and the only person I saw not wearing a mask was a member of staff who was serving at the tobacco counter. She was behind a screen.

For the first time ever I also saw a staff member challenging a woman in the petrol station who was not wearing a mask. He asked her if she had a mask and she told him she was exempt. That was it. End of conversation.

I feel very sorry for staff who have to challenge those not wearing masks, particularly if the person being challenged is not doing it for medical reasons but is an anti-masker.

I hate wearing them and am not sure how effective they are but I will wear one if there is a chance it helps to cut transmission in any way.

Exemptions need to be treated the same as the blue badg scheme and you should be required by law) to provide official proof of exemption Failure to do so should result in a fine

Ffs are you thinking this through, aside from the practicalities of who will do the paperwork for exempt people, do we really need PTSD sufferers or raped women to go through with strangers why they cant wear a mask? That domestic abuse survivor really doesn't have to recount why the things her ex husband did to her make it that she cant wear anything by her face.
Remembering too that a whole lot of these people have never said word one about their trauma, but just so you can be sure they are indeed exempt you require them to recount their very personal experiences to "someone"
Just fuck off.

If I could find a mask that doesn't make me feel like I'm being smothered if wear it. 3 different types so far have not worked

One of those plastic visors?

We are too soft.
It should be very simple, no face covering = no going to public places. I doubt you'll find a ventilator easier to wear than a light piece of fabric.

Morrisons and others are announcing this as rates are sky-rocketing in their distribution centres, staff-to-staff figures (pressure on staff to be available despite illness etc and poor regulation in communal areas) and other non-public contact areas - great mitigation to suggest it is the fault of their customers

I doubt you'll find a ventilator easier to wear than a light piece of fabric.

You are sedated while on a ventilator so it's actually probably a lot easier to deal with.