Face masks. To feel that we have all been through enough....

[NiknicK]

And shouldn’t have to wear face masks if we don’t want to. I know it’s not officially been confirmed yet, but it’s expected to be today, and I don’t get it. If face masks truly help prevent the spreading of the virus, then why on earth wasn’t it made compulsory at the beginning of this pandemic, why now? I know you’ll all likely call me selfish but I can’t do it. I have to wear a mask for ten minutes once or twice month to collect mine and dh’s medication and I find it unbearable even for that small amount of time. They make my face itch and make me want to touch my face more, I can’t breathe properly and get panicky, they slide up as they’re too big for my face and hit my eye lids. My ds is autistic and I suspect I have some traits eg sensory issues, and the thought of having to wear these masks when I find shopping stressful enough as it is, fills me with dread. AIBU?

YABU and selfish. If you don't want to wear one then don't go out.
It's a courtesy to everyone else around you. Everyone else is wearing one as a courtesy to you too.
It's shit, get on with it.

I find it so sad and real reflection on the society that we've become that anyone would think that. I think it's equally sad that the government treats us, the taxpaying voting public, with so little respect. They keep gaslighting and lying to us, every step of the way.

If they had said at the start "we don't know if masks are effective", or "this will be temporary" or "we are hoping to lift other restrictions because of this", I might have had some respect for compulsory masks. But because Boris and his clowns keep on and on lying and gaslighting, this is why some of us have totally lost respect for the suited clowns.

So now, we will be breathing out bacteria into a mask and breathing it back in, repeatedly! I will be only doing essential shopping from now on.

Human cells make up only 43% of your body's total cell count. The rest is microbiome - bacteria, viruses, funghi and archea. You are literally made of bacteria.

The doctor was saying that of your microbiome it wouldn’t be possible to identity which bacteria was causing your sinusitis.

‘We have all been through enough’ I mean we haven’t though have we? Unless you’ve lost a family member or been terribly Ill with this dreadful disease.
People banging on that they’ve ‘had enough’ and ‘want to get back to normal’. It’s been a few months man. Fucking hell. You’d think it’d been going on for years.
We have absolutely no resilience. Just suck it up.

@wanderings I have zero respect for Boris Johnson but that isn’t what this is about. My decision to wear a mask is based on what I’ve heard from medical professionals, not politicians. I don’t hate the government so much that I’m willing to go round risking strangers’ health just to prove a point.

It ain’t over til it’s over. You can’t say ‘we’ve been through enough’ now any more than you could in the middle of the Blitz.

Sorry Hitler stuff bombs I need a duvet day.

@WhatamessIgotinto
Yes I know it's shit. FWIW I've been trying to shop local and support local businesses until now. I have been extremely good about SD and would be quite happy to continue to do this but I find wearing masks extremely uncomfortable and find most people (myself included) don't use them properly (I find myself touching my face way more because of glasses steaming up malarky). I hope some of the local businesses near me continue to do deliveries or a order and collect service as I could tolerate a mask for 5 mins.

And I am fed up with the WWII analogies. Different time, different place, different threat. My issue is that community transmission is low and there is surprisingly very little evidence of face coverings making a difference even if used correctly. Most 'research' is about a suite of measures of infection control - hand washing, SD and masks

Couldn’t give a stuff if you’re fed up of them. I’m fed up of people whining about masks and using bad science to justify disinclination to wear them.

Just be glad it’s not a gas mask (see what I did there).

The point is it’s a pandemic is an ongoing threat not one we can tune out of when we fancy.

Well Asda was an experience, it's one of those huge ones, upstairs, clothes, food the lot. I'd say about 5% of people wearing masks and quite polarised that it was late teens/early 20's, older people, and me! Of the older people, about half had them over their mouth only 🙄 but the vast, vast majority of people were not wearing one.

There's going to have to be one hell of a public information/education campaign between now and next Friday.

I really don't understand how people are not wearing them properly. It's not exactly complicated.

Because it's weird and shite and disproportionate.

I'm glad customers will have to wear masks now. Barely any of them keep to social.distamcing and like to come right up to staff faces to ask where the milk is.
I am pleased retail staff are exempt whilst at work but think I will still wear a mask or visor to keep others safe.

Can't believe all the bitching and moaning about mask wearing in England. In Scotland it's just been accepted by most people.

I agree with you Op. I worry about the virus. I don’t want it to spread. But I don’t think these social distancing measures are practical long term. We may never get a vaccine. Even if we do get one who will get it? Very unlikely that they’ll roll it out to everyone. And some people may not want to take it. The virus has spread across the world - there’s not enough money to vaccinate everyone surely. So what... are we going to live in a society where masks are compulsory for the next 5 to 10 years?? In fact, are we actually going to be socially distancing for more than a year or so? I don’t think so. And the reason is that doing so will also limit our exposure to other colds and viruses, and long term surely that will weaken our immune system to those as well. The fact is most of the world is betting on a vaccine being available in a year... But a vaccine may never come and then we will be in the same position as we were in March this year. Personally I think overall Sweden will prove to have got it right.

I don't think most people want to wear masks.

I don't think most people want to end up on a ventilator.

It's not all about what you want.

@Needamanicure

So *@WutheringTights*

I won't be wearing a mask to walk along a beach on my own with my dog. Seriously some of you are well over the top. Try reading what someone has written rather than guessing.... and for the third time I haven't been in a shop or supermarket and have no intentions of going in one. I do all my shopping online now!

You don't have to wear a mask to walk along the beach with a dog. You have to wear a mask to go to the supermarket. If you don't, and you're an asymptomatic carrier (and you have no way of knowing that you're not), then you could be responsible for spreading it. In any case, my original comments weren't even aimed at you, they were aimed at the OP so I'm bewildered at how you're even managing to take personal offence.

I will wear a mask inside mainly to avoid local outbreaks and another lockdown because the first one was utterly shit for everyone but especially for those shielding. Everyone wearing masks will help you. Why don't you want that?

I have to wear a mask at work - I wasn't overjoyed at first but as I work for NHS it was inevitable.

My partner was in ICU earlier this year on a ventilator (not covid related) and it was hell sitting there watching a machine breath for him and keep him alive, not knowing if he'd wake up.

If me wearing a mask even slightly reduces the risk of someone else having to go through similar (from catching covid) then I'll happily wear a mask.

@hamstersarse

I think people just see the mask wearing as a way to ‘do something themselves about the spread of the virus’

It’s a powerlessness thing. And then a way to beat others up and signal they are better because ‘they are doing something’

There isn’t even any evidence lockdown worked, the virus has just followed the usual path...lockdown or not, it’s the same

This virus kills very elderly frail people. People seem to love the science but ignore it at the same time. We need to protect our elderly. If the government spent their time enforcing effective strategies to protect the elderly and frail, that would be fabulous. Wearing a mask down Asda ain’t really a priority.

Covid deaths / million population:

UK 660
Sweden 550
Germany 109
Denmark 105
Norway 47

lockdown works:

. Sweden has 5 x deaths / million of its neighbour Denmark, culturally similar

. Sweden has nearly 12 x deaths / million of its neighbour Norway, culturally similar

. Sweden even has 5 x deaths / million of Germany - despite Germany having 10 x their population density

. The UK without lockdown would likely have suffered many times more deaths,
especially because of vastly higher population density than the Scandinavian countries

Because I've been shielding my Dh I've not been to any shops etc and have only worn a mask once to get his prescription from hospital the other day.

Where is the best, most reliable place to find information about buying a mask or making one?

@PhilSwagielka

Good. Because I suspect I have COVID - doctors say it's most likely viral, either COVID or something similar - and believe me, you don't want to get it because it fucking sucks. I miss being able to breathe without being in pain. I don't really understand why some of you are so cavalier about getting sick but it's your bodies, not mine, so not my problem.

Why don’t you get a test?

The results come back in 24 hours!

@BigChocFrenzy

It’s such an over simplified way of looking at it. For a start, Sweden’s deaths were lower than ours so your actual point doesn’t add up. Either lockdown works or it doesn’t.

I’m not saying this is necessarily correct but I do know for sure that there will be multiple factors as to why death rates are higher in some places than others.

How about this one? The disease kills elderly frail people for the most part. That is an indisputable fact. I know lots of people like to quote the very rare cases of younger people dying but the vast majority of people who die are elderly and with existing co morbidities.

The attached shows Sweden’s most recent ‘flu season’ mortality rates. They’d had a ‘good’ flu season coming into this pandemic, so therefore you can surmise they had more elderly people still alive and vulnerable to the new virus. There are comparison graphs to other Nordic countries if you really want them, but the point here is to say that there are many factors at play when you just blithely post up that ‘lockdown works’ because...death rates.

Sweden’s transition through the virus has taken exactly the same course as ours and the rest of the world despite no lockdown. You can’t just explain that away.

The thing about masks is they definitely are disputed as to whether they provide benefits in preventing transmission. Yes, disputed!

So all I’d ask if the people on here calling others selfish, murderous bastards for questioning whether wearing masks is necessary have truly reviewed both sides of the science research and are absolutely sure that this degradation of civil liberties is necessary.

This article here reviews the studies and meta analysis of the effectiveness of masks. Are we suddenly saying all these studies are rubbish? And this one new study is the one to base our policy on. I just don’t think it’s so clear cut as people make out on here.

www.marktaliano.net/masks-dont-work-a-review-of-science-relevant-to-covid-19-social-policy-by-denis-rancourt-phd-11-june-2020/

I just don't understand why face masks is the thing that's upsetting loads of people, after all the stuff we've been through so far. It seems a simple thing to do to help yourself and other people, albeit slightly uncomfortable for some.

Did you hear yesterday that the rate in supermarket workers is much higher than the general population? So
a) face masks in shops will protect YOU from THEM
b) face masks in shops will protect THEM from YOU

People who say they have sensory issues or breathing difficulties - just find a light, comfortable mask. Don't be a dick about it. My sensory issue friend at work who was freaking out about the whole idea is now super-excited because she's found a mask with a silly slogan on it.