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?

I'm sure quite a lot of people can make their own masks or there are textile companies now making masks. It doesn't need to be a medical mask at all for the purpose of retaining droplets and moisture from breath.

By the way, DON'T buy those ones with a valve - it's entirely pointless to wear something meant to protect others and then blow your unfiltered breath out through the valve!! Those ones are designed for protecting the wearer from dust etc, not viruses.

@Twillow

By the way, DON'T buy those ones with a valve - it's entirely pointless to wear something meant to protect others and then blow your unfiltered breath out through the valve!! Those ones are designed for protecting the wearer from dust etc, not viruses.

The fpp3 ones do filter viruses so for vulnerable people they're are sensible to give them mor ev freedom.

In hospitals you'll see saff wearing them to protect them plus a normal one over the top to protect t he rs

@Twillow

By the way, DON'T buy those ones with a valve - it's entirely pointless to wear something meant to protect others and then blow your unfiltered breath out through the valve!! Those ones are designed for protecting the wearer from dust etc, not viruses.

The fpp3 ones do filter viruses so for vulnerable people they're are sensible to give them mor ev freedom.

In hospitals you'll see saff wearing them to protect them plus a normal one over the top to protect t he rs

Just sharing these in case they help:
www.facebook.com/vibemanc/videos/2945058712269671/
&
www.facebook.com/109082884067353/posts/164997588475882/

I don't mind the awkwardness of wearing a face mask I do get used to it even though as a glasses wearer, my glasses get steamed up.
There is the alternative is wearing a face shield which must be better.
It goes without saying that in the early days there was a lack of PPE for those working selflessly and tirelessly to save lives. I'm sure that you can cast your mind back to that time. I for one don't want to find myself hospitalised and on a ventilator. More and more contact is made so heightening the chances of catching Covid-19.
Get your big girl's knickers on and find a safe solution for yourself ,your family and the people you come in contact with.

I don't mind the awkwardness of wearing a face mask I do get used to it even though as a glasses wearer, my glasses get steamed up.

You can get ones with a wire on Etsy which apparently work. I have some from @combatcovidmasks on Instagram (Solo style). They work great with my glasses although she is slow to ship.

You don't have to wear a mask all the time, only when going out where you're likely to be alongside others. I think most of us could put up with that.

@Madvixen

If you don't want to wear a mask you don't have to. The consequence will be that you can't go to the shops or access public transport.

Exactly this! Others shouldn’t be put at risk OP “because you THINK” you would know if you had the coronavirus...... or not. Also the fact that you need to take 3 trips to the supermarket in a week

''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?''

Simple. Stupid government.
Look at those countries that got things under control - masks were mandatory for a long time.

Masks won't ruin your life, it will save you. There are scientific evidence to prove it.

Boris started the masks orders because he finally woke up. And he probably also realised that the second wave is likely on its way -- he needs to stop being stupid.

YANBU All the mitigations are partial and have exceptions.

They assume only 70% of people will comply - though in fact many more do comply.
Each mitigation may reduce spread by some fraction and that fraction is reduced by the proportion of non-compliant people. But there is still a net reduction.

We can easily tolerate those people who have particular difficulties - physical, psychological or practical. The mitigation policy is there to help people, not to cause them more problems. It is a balance that everyone has to decide for themselves.
I find it sad that so many people are so critical - and probably hipocritical. I know no one who has stuck 100% to all measures, even though I live in an area where compliance is high and most people have been wearing masks for a month now.

The death rate has fallen persistently, despite all the terrible things like people going to parks or beaches. We don't need to be horrible to people who can't comply 100% with every detail. We're doing fine with the sensible, relaxed and tolerant attitude that most decent people display.

when i read all these "boo hoo i don't want to wear a mask threads"* and i think what a load of selfish people the English turned out to be, i see this and am a little reassured.

Just make a mask and wear it. Or buy a mask and wear it. Or find where people are donating one and get one. But wear a mask.

www.bigcommunitysew.co.uk/?fbclid=IwAR2-2etdD92AVBIKN6WDs5F9pd03v-m-3h_H8Dw5Kjv5WEasyUdn4jOamC0

*does not apply to people who genuinely can't wear them

It's selfish, petty, entitled and immature to refuse to wear one especially when some vulnerable people and children under 2 cannot wear them and are making their way back into society now.

I doubt anyone likes wearing them but they suck it up. Gosh the whining on this issue is beyond infuriating. You can do something that will save lives and people just want to moan about it or come up with silly excuses as to why they are so special and shouldn't have to wear one.

We’re living in a pandemic, of course we are going to be told what to do. It’s for your health and the health of everyone else. Masks aren’t the best but if it saves lives I don’t see the problem personally. I understand some people can’t wear them due to health reasons but the vast majority of people Will be able wear them. Either wear one when you pop to the shop or stay home. It’s pretty simple
I think people who choose not wear them because they don’t like them are incredibly selfish. I’ve seen so many people complaining and botching they have to wear a mask and I just think off all the health care staff that have been wearing PPE all day everyday for month, with bruised faces and sore bodies. A facemask isn’t gonna hurt is it

Try being a nurse and wearing full PPE for 12 hours and then having to wear it all out and about now too.....I will be wearing PPE 24/7 but you carry on moaning about your 10 minutes in a mask.....I will wait!🤔😷🙌

Haven’t read all 36 pages, but I’m baffled as to why wearing masks will kill the high street?
Most people I know are happy to wear one, of course there are a few who moan about it but they are in the minority.

The countries who have so far done the best in this pandemic are those who used masks - presumably their high streets are doing better than ours because their governments have a far better handle on things.

The whole 'oh you can't cope with lockdown what would Anne Frank say' attitude dismisses the huge numbers who killed themselves rather than live for years in the genuinely awful situations they were forced into.

There's a slight difference between constant bombing, people being shot on the streets, risk of torture and imprisonment, borderline starvations and having to wear a mask for an hour.

I agree. I hate wearing masks too but I realise that it is better to be safe than sorry. I put one on as soon as I enter a shop and take it off as soon as I come out. Simples.

It will kill the high street as people won't shop for leisure/pleasure but merely for essentials in the minimum time. See the many comments above about just popping it on for ten minutes, etc.

Also, putting it on and off and touching it pretty much defeats the purpose and spreads other germs (they still exist) but that's what I and lots of people will do.

So, for those that are concerned about mask wearing affecting business, what is your proposed alternative?

a) staying in lockdown? (that's the definition of killing the High Street)
b) everyone just taking their chances, with the likely result of rising cases and more deaths?

Or do you have another solution?

@SchadenfreudePersonified

The whole 'oh you can't cope with lockdown what would Anne Frank say' attitude dismisses the huge numbers who killed themselves rather than live for years in the genuinely awful situations they were forced into.

There's a slight difference between constant bombing, people being shot on the streets, risk of torture and imprisonment, borderline starvations and having to wear a mask for an hour.

Well, yes

Poor old Anne was referred to regularly on the lockdown boards
To be fair on this thread it's only Syria and Yemen

Even more weirdly, some people who have lived through and survived warzones find mask wearing or lockdown intolerable as it triggers ptsd

It's almost like you can't connect the way a person feels about one thing to how they would manage in another situation. It's also very dismissive of the history of warzones and genocides, where many people did in fact choose suicide over living in what they considered to be, and frankly were, intolerable conditions

So it annoys me on many fronts

We have a family friend in London who is in the most shielded group. He has no immunity but no acute conditions so is not undergoing any medical treatment. He lives alone and gets his weekly government food box left on the doorstep. He takes his exercise in his small garden (which he is obviously lucky to have in London)

He has not seen or touched another human being since lockdown began and is horribly depressed.

If everyone who can, wears a mask and people continue to social distance, we may reach a point where he can go out and start living in the world again.

He is far from being the only person in this situation.

Please, please wear a mask if you can. The virus is not just destroying the lives of those who are sick with Covid.

For those staying it will kill the high street - I think it will be the opposite. I’ll be much more comfortable shopping knowing that those around me are wearing a mask to protect me.

Seriously? "Been through enough"?? It's a piece of cloth. No different to a scarf. Get over it. Sorry if I sound blunt but in a lot of other countries masks have been mandatory for months. People wonder why our death rate and infection rate are slower to fall than other countries...then protest against wearing masks. We now know that masks are as effective, if not more so than distancing. Wear a mask or stay home. Simple.

I'm an American living in Germany. In my city we currently have FOUR active COVID cases; masks have been required in shops since 27 April.

Look at the utter incompetence, willful ignorance and idiotic "individualism" in the US. In Florida they recently had over 11,000 new cases in ONE DAY. (General population of Florida is roughly 21.5 million.) It is because Americans refuse to mask up and protect their fellow human beings that it will probably be at least another year before I see my mother again; the last time I saw her in person was August 2019. She is 78. I sincerely hope I get to see her again.

Wear the fucking mask and quit bitching about it.