Masks - GET A GRIP.

[Changednamesorry]

Ok.

So. Lots of whinging about masks at the moment as BoJo finally hauls his arse into gear and says that you have to wear them in the shops and on public transport.

In Catalunya where I live masks are obligatory. Every time you are in public. Including in the street. Inside and out. The exceptions are

Medical conditions (you need a paper justifying this)
When playing sport
Children under the age of 6
If eating or drinking

If you don't comply - 100 euro fine. No arguments.

Most people here were already wearing masks anyway (because we saw the horror at the beginning of the pandemic here and we know what a real lockdown is like - not allowed out at all, children locked inside for nearly 3 months, etc)

People arent whining and complaining nor imagining how they can invent aome excuse to mean that the rules don't apply to them and the overwhelming majority of people are wearing them all the time.

Tourists not so much but they getting fined. Good.

So England. PLEASE. Stop with the selfishness. Literally dozens of countries have mandatory mask wearing and citizens comply because they care about each other and don't spend their time acting entitled and "I'm all right Jack"

There are articles in the European press about this. Literally "English people are selfish - is it any wonder they are so resistant to wear masks". It's embarrassing. As a nation, as a society, it's time to grow up and just put the mask on like everyone else.

English people. You aren't special. You are starting to look like the kid who gets thw whole class detention because they just keep on breaking the rules.

Wear the mask. Please. It's for the safety of everyone.

And if you ABSOLUTELY MUST come to Spain on holiday, even more so.

This research article showed how dyspnea (shortness of breath) increased when wearing masks:

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29395560/

I guess short amount of time in close proximity with others and a mask of multiple fabrics (not just one) and worn correctly is the safest bet. Otherwise, an ill fitting one/or one worn incorrectly that stops only 5% (previous article) and restricts breathing (this article) is a bit pointless. To be effective also regular washing and non touching important!

And a general plea for people to stop moaning and comply. It's to protect everyone.

Why aren’t people allowed to moan?! I’m still confused by this. You don’t have to listen to it.

The “and comply” bit is premature. Comply with what? They’re not mandatory yet?

I'm English and you're entirely right. The complaining is absurd.

I actually saw someone saying that they feel like they're going to pass out from, and I quite, "air thirst" if they wear one for more than five minutes.

Absolute madness, and the privilege on some people is flabbergasting.

For those saying Mind your business, well it IS our business when your refusal to wear a mask puts our health at risk

No it's not your business. If people don't wear them they will be fined or they will be legally exempt. That's for the legal process to deal with. Just concentrate on covering your own mouth.

Totally agree OP.

Even 5% Improvement is better than nothing

Quite a generalisation there. ‘English people are selfish’.
I’m English, I’m happy to wear a mask.

So @Changednamesorry the current outbreak in Catalunya is due to the arrival of 30,000 fruit pickers..... hence mask wearing now....

WOW I thought only the English were stupid - who have thought that an arrival of 30,000 would bring an outbreak of the virus

I was talking to someone about the masks being mandatory in shops and she replied 'well why aren't they mandatory in pubs then??'. Well probably because drinking in a pub requires quite a lot more use of your mouth than walking around tesco.....

Totally agree OP. Ashamed of dome Brits.

I think that shows as well as mask wearing in busy places then preventing an arrival of 30,000 fruit pickers from other countries would reduce the transmission rate of the virus...

Ignore me though @Changednamesorry I'm just a stupid English person

Hear hear! Surgeons stand up for hours saving a life with a mask on so I have no time for precious whingers going on about how they can't breathe. It's ridiculous and makes the Brits sound inbred.

In pubs you sit in one place, not walk around.

@KarenMcKaren

For those saying Mind your business, well it IS our business when your refusal to wear a mask puts our health at risk

No it's not your business. If people don't wear them they will be fined or they will be legally exempt. That's for the legal process to deal with. Just concentrate on covering your own mouth.

Quite - and it reeks of the same people who thought it was their business to police others during "lockdown".
It wasn't then and it isn't now - it is up to the authorities to police how they see fit. Whether I agree with mask wearing or not I wholeheartedly agree that people should just get on with doing what they should do and leave everyone else be.

Totally agree. I’m embarrassed to be English at the moment! I might pretend I’m Irish or Scottish if I travel overseas as we really are a joke.

Wear the mask. It’s no big deal. My partner is a nurse. She wears one for 13 hours a day. I have worn one every time I go into a shop during the whole pandemic - you know why? Not to protect me, but because I live With a nurse so I’m probably at more risk of contracting COVID-19 and therefore passing it on. So I wear a mask to protect others.

As others have said upthread, every country has it's idiots. Mask refusal is not something that is exclusive to the Brits/English.

Did people miss the tragic story of the French bus driver who was beaten to death by two passengers who refused to wear a mask?

I am not convinced that they do much, but will obviously comply with the regulations.
However, I will most probably not go shopping much.

I see it in the same lines as getting car insurance; it's a pain in the butt, it is at your expense, but it's there so if you happen to crash into someone, they arent left with the consequences of just happening to be the person you came across that day. If you dont want to buy car insurance, dont drive a car.

Masks are the same; they protect those around you. And in the same way as insurance goes, if you think 'well I am not getting it because I dont like it and it impedes on my freedom to do what I want. Screw everyone else' then you are d**k.

Health workers do 12 hour shifts. You can manage 30 mins of wearing one in morrisons. If you cant, then people in morrisons dont deserve to be the unlucky person who is subjected to you, so you have to make adjustments, the same as we all did during lockdown, to avoid going to shops in order to protect people.

Basically, dont be selfish. Masks are about us all working as a society to get through this.

(And before the slating starts, I am pregnant, I cant breathe properly on a good day, but I still wear my mask if I need to do a food shop).

There's an article in the Sun about British tourists ignoring the mask requirement quite blatantly. Until recently the police were just giving out warnings apparently.

Majorca and Ibiza to fine tourists not wearing face masks £90 from Monday – as Brits moan it’s ‘too hot’ to cover mouth

It's very dependent on the region here. In NY compliance is very high, in other parts of the US not so much.

@Changednamesorry if visors aren't allowed, what considerations have been made for deaf/hard of hearing/ lip readers?

How do we ensure these people are not being further socially isolated and unable to access services?

I don't think people in the UK are stupid and moan. I don think we like to debate things a bit first. It isn't actually mandatory yet so who knows if we are entitled and refuse since until it is required it is impossible for all the psychics out there to know for definite isn't it?

We will see.

Neon k...people who lip read are allowed to have exemptions for those travelling with them.

You don't live in England so how is this any of your business?

Whinging twats.
On the plus side hopefully the queues for shops will reduce.

YANBU!

Just wear bloody mask for goodness sake.

My cousin is a GP and she has been getting a trickle now rush of requests for letters from patients to exempt them from wearing masks in public...only a teeny tiny minority would this be the case!

Weird post.

Sorry you hate the English for some reason. Maybe log off for a bit.

I am heartened by a civic life and democracy that debates its policies vigorously and in public. I really really could not give a toss if "Britain is a laughing stock" because we do this. I encourage everyone to air their views, even or in fact especially if they counter my own.

Also, just...It's actually one of the weirdest talking points on MN, really. If you spend your time laughing your socks off at people dying in a global pandemic I'd keep that to yourself, frankly. What else cracks you up? Fukushima?