Dodgy face masks/ expensive

[melonslicexx]

I was asked to send a box of face masks from Amazon to someone's house. I ordered a pack of 50 and then read the reviews. Strings breaking. Tearing. All different sizes.

I kept searching. The prices were shocking on some. So I nipped on boots. £30 and more for masks.

So I went on superdrug. Terrible reviews on the sensible priced ones.

I went back on Amazon and found 10 washable ones for £10.99. read them. Good reviews. So I sent them.

The person who I sent them to rang to say on the box it says.

Not intended for medical purposes.
Will not protect against viruses.
Not intended to be used as a preventer or medical device.

Why are legit shops charging the earth?

Why are there so many people trying to make money and providing a poor quality product. If it's mandatory then it should be affordable considering how expensive life is a d many are on lower pay at the moment.

If anyone knows a safe genuine online shop to buy masks at a sensible price let me know

You only need to wear a mask inside the shop, not while you're walking there. And it doesn't need to be medical grade. It only needs to protect others from the droplets you expel. So a fabric one or the cheap blue ones are fine.

Make your own. It’s really very simple.
You can breathe in a mask and I bet your children would happily go snorkelling.
There is good evidence that masks reduce transmission. It’s about reducing the risks at societal level. Too little, too late but other nations manage just fine.
The breathing old air back in is just hysterical nonsense. Masks made of cotton are not airtight. There is no seal. Air gets in at the side as well as through the material.
Get a grip and consider others.

"You can't breathe properly in them either. Not good for our overall health".

Don't be one of those people.

They are designed to prevent you spreading infection, not to protect you (though they will a bit). No, they dont cover your eyes - if you are concerened about protecting yourself you could wear a visor, or glasses.
Yes, you still need to wash your hands and so do others.

You are not required to wear medical grade masks unless you are wearing them in a clinical setting. You just need a face covering. And you can breathe in them.

Do your research.

@CherryPavlova

So do you think it's ok for pub goers to not be wearing masks and people out eating and going to the gym.

Do they need to get a grip and stop e joying themselves and risking the spread as they don't have masks on?

Can't be one rule for one and one for another. Oh wait yes it can. Because it's important people can get drunk!

I think people are getting a hard time for complaining because alot of us have been in full PPE at work since lockdown began. Masks were made mandatory at my work months ago. I was sunbathing in one at work because the person I look after was with me.

vm.tiktok.com/JLVW9GC/

I hated the idea of wearing a mask when this all first broke.....then I realised it really won’t affect mine or most people’s lives. It really won’t!

So you have to wear one in public transport, in shops and in hospitals. So that’s maybe 1-2hrs max commuting a day, plus 15 mins in a shop and unless you work in a hospital (where people seem to be much more at ease with wearing one anyway) then that’s it. Really not a problem.

For me, (and yes this is just for me, everyone will be different) I’m wfh so no commute, we have Tesco click and collect, no mask needed there, and I maybe nip to get milk once a week - 5 mins. If I do I have to do a big Tescos shop, that’s 45 mins once a week. Think of all the other hours you are not wearing a mask.

Really it won’t affect your life as much as you think it will.

Sitting at a table eating a meal, with people you’ve chosen to be with, is very different from walking around a shop where there are potentially vulnerable or infected strangers.

All action to reduce the spread is good, surely? Why would you make a fuss about something so minor? Personally, I’d insist on their use in public with them only being removed to eat or drink in designated places. It would have excellent unintended consequences.

Bloody hell, like the govt has to do everything for people now.

Govt = taxpayers not some God in the sky.
Sort yourself out.

That's not the best argument for the government allowing unmasked people to meet in bars but not to nip to Asda.

You can sort yourself out can you? Boris has decided masks in shops. Blow caution to the wind and go in the pub and get drunk with your pals.

If you're not out drinking then you are not around people who aren't wearing masks, the masks can prevent passing it on. If i was anxious or shielding I would only go out for essentials, and everyone else getting their essentials would be wearing a mask and protecting me by doing that. If i was in a place where masks are not compulsory the pub or the gym that would be something I had weighed up and chosen not something I need to do. I would imagine this would help people who are having to be extra cautious.

You also asked for good make suppliers - I’ve got a few from Home @ Muddy Boots from Etsy. Lovely masks, pretty designs, not scary! Look at it as a fashion accessory.

@CherryPavlova

Nope still staff and the rest of the public in and out the toilets. Ordering. Using the glasses and plates and forks. Do you honestly think drunk people remember to stay back? What about all the fights and stuff. People end up in hospital every weekend after nights out. It's all aload of rubbish. It's not about the virus anymore. It's about looking like they are doing something when they actually arnt. You can't make excuses that asda is more dangerous than wetherspoons.

@melonslicexx the filter can be anything- an extra layer of fabric or something more technical like a filter for an air conditioner. You can also buy reusable filters from Etsy.
At the moment I've been using mine without a filter, as it is double layered anyway. I might look at getting some filters if I need to be inside for longer, like if I ever get booked in at the hairdressers!

Can't be one rule for one and one for another. Oh wait yes it can. Because it's important people can get drunk!

It's about reducing the risk of infection as much as possible. It's not a magic solution that will stop everyone getting Covid altogether.

Obviously you can't easily wear one while you're eating or drinking (in a pub or restaurant) but you can wear one when you're inside and not eating or drinking- for example in a shop. So that means one place that you're less likely to get infected/infect others which means a lower rate of transmission overall.

In Italy the government have capped the price of surgical masks at 50 cents per mask. People are reusing them because we are not performing surgery, we are just avoiding breathing in each other's faces. Cloth masks in pretty designs are now being sold in many shops in a breathable cotton for about five euros and they are really quite wearable for the time it takes to go in a shop, even where I am where it's 32 degrees. Many people who are handy with a sewing machine are making them for friends and family. I am pretty rubbish but managed to make one with two hair bobbles and an old cotton t-shirt in less than an hour.

[quote melonslicexx]@CherryPavlova

Nope still staff and the rest of the public in and out the toilets. Ordering. Using the glasses and plates and forks. Do you honestly think drunk people remember to stay back? What about all the fights and stuff. People end up in hospital every weekend after nights out. It's all aload of rubbish. It's not about the virus anymore. It's about looking like they are doing something when they actually arnt. You can't make excuses that asda is more dangerous than wetherspoons.[/quote]
No, but then I wouldn’t go to Weatherspoons and don’t know anyone who would. I agree it should be masks except when sitting at a table though. I wouldn’t have opened pubs except for meals at tables. It was for popularist vote to shut people up about Cummings and corruption.

I know lots of people who would want to go shopping and are limited by self centred, hedonistic types who only worry about themselves.

How is it ok when people want to get drunk? Or eat out? How can the rules be so different

If pubs follow the rules, it's table service only, only families on tables and no standing around the bar. Not very risky. The question is whether they follow the rules or not. I was in a pub on Saturday and they allowed someone to order at the bar which I wasn't very pleased about.

@GarlicMonkey

We'll be using motorbike neck tubes pulled up to our noses. Probably useless but no more useless than 99% of the other stuff folk will be wearing.

Yes. I have wide fitness hairbands that I'll be using in a similar way.

I do also have a reusable mask I bought from Amazon which has a pocket for a filter.

As for the pubs/cafes/restaurants argument, the should be operating strict social distancing in these venues and you can't eat or drink wearing one can you?

I tried multiple types as we have been using them in Portugal since April. Originally bought the reusable and washed hem religiously for two weeks. Now I buy disposables - 50 for about 25 euros. They are lighter to wear. They stop me from passing around the virus should I actually have it. I know it is unlikely to PREVENT me from catching it, but it does offer some protection. And if everyone else is wearing one, then we are all reasonably safe.

I'll be making the ones out of socks as I've got about a zillion odd ones in a drawer, takes two mins and free. Can add extra filter inside if needed. Was saying to dh this morning that some people literally won't have any spare cash to buy masks, now it's being enforced will they be made available at entrance to shops? Or will the government send us all one? Not really fair to people who genuinely can't afford these hiked up prices.

@melonslicexx

Yeah that makes sense. They look awful. I'll not be going out now. It's put me off. I don't want my kids wearing them. You can't breathe properly in them either. Not good for our overall health. It's a waste of time after 5 months anyway. The government has been a joke with everything.

Well that's the most important thing, how they look?

How are they not good for general health? Surely if they slow the spread of the virus that's good for general health

(Dont go out then)

You don't need to wear one while you're walking, just in the shop.

You don't legally need to wear one while you're walking. But you need to be able to wash your face before putting the mask on. If you are wandering around town without the mask, you may get airbourne particles around your mouth and nose. You need to wash these off before going into the shop with mask on. If you put mask on without washing your face, you are trapping the virus inside your mask and pretty much guaranteeing you inhale it.

"now it's being enforced will they be made available at entrance to shops?"

Well they handed them out free at London's major intersection stations when TfL first required them. So shops may well choose to do this to maintain footfall

In a shop, it's hard to keep 2 metres distance and you'll be passing a lot of people (staff and other customers) that aren't in your usual bubble.

In a pub, restaurant or cafe it's table service only, you are sitting with family or friends and the tables are spread out so you aren't close to anyone else except for staff when being served. It's impossible to wear a mask while eating and drinking but these factors all reduce the transmission risk.

I bought some masks from Amazon way back in the beginning of April. They were £9.99 plus postage for a pack of 3 resusable masks. They've got a couple of layers and a pocket to insert a filter or tissue. They've also got adjustable elastics straps so you can fit them. I thought that was very reasonable; the only downside was that they were from China so did take a little while to arrive!

The simple fact is we need to learn to live with this virus around us. It’s not going away. Viruses don’t just disappear. Our best hope for proper normality is a vaccine but this might not happen.

In the meantime we need to start a new way of allowing things to reopen. This is essential or we will have no economy or jobs left. So much of this is already in jeopardy.

If this means wearing masks in a shop then that’s what we have to do. If you have a problem with it don’t go.

If going to a pub / restaurant then they require your contact details so if there is a outbreak people there can be contacted. This is not required in shops. Again, if you don’t like it don’t go.

This is all about trying to allow us some semblance of normality while keeping spread low and controlled as far as possible.

Other countries are all changing their rules frequently as well. This is all new so it’s about seeing what works best and what could be better with new info available.

It’s now all about taking what risks you feel are acceptable to you. If you don’t want to do it don’t bit you can’t judge others for feeling they can.