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?

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.

This.

Don't understand those who are not going to "browse" anymore.

So you would be happy browsing knowing that the person behind you could be asymptomatic breathing covid into the air?

When I wear a mask in public:
🔵 I want it to be known that I'm educated enough to know that I could be asymptomatic and still give the virus.
🔵 No, I don't ′′ live in fear ′′ of the virus; I just want to be part of the solution, not the problem.
🔵 I don't feel like the ′′ government is controlling me ". I feel like an adult contributing to society and I wish others would too.
🔵 The world isn't about me. It's not just about me and my comfort.
🔵 If we could all live thinking about others, the whole world would be a better place.
🔵 Wearing a mask doesn't make me weak, scared, stupid or even ′′ controlled ". It makes me considerate.
🔵 When you think about how you look, how uncomfortable it is or what other people think about you, imagine someone close - a child, a father, a mother, a grandfather, an aunt or uncle - wheezing to breathe, choking In a ventilator, alone, without any family allowed on their bedside.
🔵 Ask yourself if at least you could have done it for them.
#IProudlyWearMyMask

Luckily we live in an England where we can all choose our own position on many issues.

The face coverings in shops legislation (fro 24 July) is not yet issued for England - I check legislation every morning. I suspect it will be similar to trains in terms of exemptions - anyone who suffers extreme distress does not have to wear one.

Today 08:13 Parker231

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.“

Ditto. I’ll be going out specifically because people have to wear masks.

You can't be bothered to make the effort to wear a mask for an hours shopping trip and yet expect the health are staff to wear them for 12 hour shifts to care for people who contract the virus and end up unwell.

Get over yourself

🔵 Wearing a mask doesn't make me weak, scared, stupid or even ′′ controlled ". It makes me considerate

It's ridiculous this even needs to be said. There is no ideology behind wearing a mask. It is just bloody common sense

Well bloody said @Shirls22

Hear hear!

Haven't read all the thread but after seeing constant discussion of this on social medua and in the MSM I can't believe it is such an issue in this country. Everywhere else manages just fine, why are people here so bothered by a thin piece of fabric over their faces?!

Of course those with disabilities can opt out but why do those without extreme mh problems or disabilities struggle with this? We didn't do it months ago because it was widespread and face covers would have been futile. Now it is under control, let's keep it that way or do people really want to go back to lockdown?!

@Shirls22 👏👏👏💯💯💯

A small number of medical conditions excepted, why are people not wanting to do something which can protect others and hopefully enable us to return to a more normal life. If you won’t wear a mask in the very limited situations it is required, then stay at home and out of my way.

I have worn my rather fetching patterned mast (Etsy) for weeks now in the shops, which I seldom venture to. I hardly notice I've got it on and it saves me worrying about hair and make up. It makes me feel a bit safer and will give me the confidence to go out more. One little tip - if you want to keep your earrings safe leave them off - none of mine have got totally lost but they can be dislodged when putting the mask on.

I have to wear a mask for certain things at work. I hate it. My colleagues and I cannot understand each other clearly and people are constantly pulling down the masks to explain things and make themselves understood.

I will not be wearing a mask to go shopping, as I just won’t shop. I’m planning a little shopping trip this weekend before it becomes compulsory but I will not go to the high street again until it stops being mandatory. Not least because, due to all the mask-touching described above, the virus is far more likely to be on surfaces. That and the fact they are unpleasant, uncomfortable and the kids are terrified of them.

I also have great concerns about the number and nature of laws introduced by this government that are eroding our liberties, but apparently it’s wrong to care about that.

@IfIHadAHeart
We're in the middle of a pandemic and you're worried about your liberties being eroded. You need to get a grip - along with OP

I also have great concerns about the number and nature of laws introduced by this government that are eroding our liberties, but apparently it’s wrong to care about that

I disagree. I think it's absolutely right to be concerned about it, but now is not the time to fight against it. The time is once this is under control and the legislation is no longer required. Or if it becomes clear that the laws are being used in ways that are not within the spirit of why they were introduced in the first place.

@Chilledchablis you’re naive to think we will get them back once they have been removed. I can’t fathom why anyone wouldn’t be concerned. Being worried about my liberties and being worried about the virus are not mutually exclusive

What liberties do you think you have had removed?

Teen dd and I went on a shopping trip yesterday and tried out mask wearing on public transport and in shop. Tbh they are hot and I found it hard to look down going down steps as it got in the way of my vision. But we still had a lovely day. I think they need a bit of practice and building up of tolerance levels. Teen did better than me!

@Parker231

What liberties do you think you have had removed?

Yes. I'm also wondering about this. I'd love to know what constraints people think will will remain in place if/when Covid ceases to be a risk to our lives.

@Andi65

I'm totally with you on this NikNick and I don't think it is selfish for people to question mask wearing as there is, as yet, no evidence that they are effective (if our chief medical officer is to be believed). I find it a bit worrying that people get so aggressive about this - it would be more helpful if we tried to understand each others' anxieties. Some people are frightened of catching Covid and others fear being controlled by the state or have breathing difficulties, or feel panicky about their face being covered etc. So can we all be a bit more tolerant about each others concerns! I also think it is important that we question some of the messages we are being given by the government and the mainstream media (they are so obviously contradictory ) so I think it is good that you have raised this issue - it isn't a black and white question and it deserves to be taken seriously.

But why do some people in England think that we know better than all the other countries where mask wearing has been happening for far longer? Are the English somehow different to people in all these countries?

If people fear being controlled perhaps they should look to themselves and their fellow countrymen who believe that a pandemic can be managed with everyone 'doing their own risk assessment' (which essentially means taking the exceptionally selfish view of 'I'll do what suits me, fuck everyone else'). It can't, because in a pandemic it isn't just about you, more importantly it is about your potential impact on others.

I bet half the people having a tantrum about the concept of using masks, because they don't want to (not the people that medically can't) are the same people declaring that the elderly and vulnerable should just stay locked up so that they can get back to normal

YABU

Can’t you do this simple thing if wearing a mask to benefit your fellow human beings?

Stop being selfish argumentative git

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-8529353/amp/NHS-doctor-proves-masks-NOT-affect-breathing.html

They didn’t make them compulsory from the outset because government had ignored the advice of resilience experts and failed to ensure there were masks available. Now that the number of cases has fallen to a tiny level, we have plenty of masks, and no real reason to use them other than on public transport where we may be in contact with an infected person for long enough for it to matter.

People will just have to agree to disagree. There is no point in dividing the nation yet again this time over face coverings. We can all look at the new law once the Government publishes it and decide when it applies.

Does 'feeling fed up' trump the well-being and safety of your fellow humans?

@Parker231 What liberties have been taken away?
Where do we begin?

Even though the chief clown is probably looking forward to the moment of saying "the pandemic is over", and making sure that he can be the one to say it himself, here is what I do foresee:

• Most of the new laws being in place for a long time, until long after they think we have forgotten them. This means that none of our pre-booked events will be safe from being cancelled, on the government's whim, at any moment.
• This has paved the way for the government locking down the whole country for a minor epidemic, or any reason that suits them. If we're not careful, we could find ourselves locked down whenever there's a hint of terrorism.
• The government telling us that gatherings of more than six people are now allowed, while quietly keeping the laws in place. This means that as soon as the government get wind of any forthcoming event they don't like, they can ban it, with the full backing of the law. Preventing people from meeting is the classic way of making sure the masses can't plan a resistance.
• Ditto masks: they'll tell us they're no longer compulsory, but they won't change the law.

The fact that everything is "until further notice" and that the words "these restrictions are temporary" have barely passed their lips speaks volumes.

It's not the masks themselves that some of us object to, it's the steady relentless erosion of our freedoms that many of us are extremely worried about, and making masks compulsory is an alarming step closer to this. Making masks compulsory in shops may easily be the thin end of the wedge, and they're softening us up for more later: on a whim they could make them compulsory in schools, playgrounds, in our own cars, out in the street at all, in our own houses. And don't tell me that last idea is ridiculous: it could happen, and the curtain-twitchers would be more than happy to dob their neighbours in, as has been proved. This is why we have to resist this stealthy creeping authoritarianism.

I don’t have a problem with being told we have to have a lockdown when needed - we should have had a proper one to start with rather than the weak version we have had. It’s no wonder the UK has had so many deaths.

I’ve also no problem wearing a mask - it protects others.

Some of your comments sound like those made by some Americans protesting about their freedoms.