Will you continue to wear a mask when they’re no longer compulsory?

[AngeloMysterioso]

I can’t really decide how I feel about it- as a pregnant woman with a tendency to get a bit sweaty in the face on warm days, I would like not to have to wear one whenever I’m inside a building that isn’t my own home. And I’m double jabbed so not at much risk. But then you’ve got people from SAGE and the BMA saying we should keep wearing them, and I’d imagine they know a bit better than Sajid Javid whose background is in finance.

What do you think?

YABU- I’ll continue to wear a mask
YANBU - I won’t be wearing a mask anymore.

A nurse friend told me that surgeons and surgical staff only wear masks to try to avoid spit and large particles from breathing doesn’t end up in an open wound. It is not to stop all air escaping into the room as their breath is instead diverted up towards their eyes and to the sides of their cheeks. So no, I wouldn’t like to be operated on by a doctor not wearing a mask, but only because I’d be worried about bacteria from spittle getting into an open wound. I couldn’t care less about the covid aspect because unless they were wearing a fit tested full medical mask with no escape gaps then the virus is too small to be stopped.

@adeleh

Would the people who think masks make no difference mind if they were operated on by people not wearing masks?

I'm genuinely curious. I'm not scientifically minded at all, and tend to place my faith in people who are like Chris Whitty or Rachel Clarke.

If that mask was a manky bit of cotton which was fished out of a pocket or handbag, where it had been stuck unwashed for god knows how long, then I'd be sceptical as to how much use it would be.

Comparing surgical masks - which doctors are trained to use and which are thrown away after every use - to the manner in which most masks are worn by the general public is silly and has been discussed here so many times already.

Not sure that much training is required for doctors to wear a mask. Not really sure that most peoples' masks are particularly manky either. You appear to know better though.

Yes because it does help in some way, as my GP explained. And Whitby and Vallance said the same, as did the previous CMO. For me, those opinions carry more weight than gossip and hearsay.

Yes, and the hand washing, and attempt to socially distance.

There’s a very good reason for the precautions especially if we want life to resume some semblance to normality.

@adeleh

Not sure that much training is required for doctors to wear a mask. Not really sure that most peoples' masks are particularly manky either. You appear to know better though.

Are you suggesting that the masks worn by average person in the bus or the supermarket - and the manner in which they are worn - are identical to how doctors wear medical grade masks while performing surgical procedures?

I may do on crowded tubes or crowded buses. Not if the tube/bus is quiet though. Otherwise no!

I'm also very much looking forward to being able to leave the house without getting halfway down the street, realizing I've forgotten my mask for the umpteenth time and having to go all the way back to get it.

Nope. My masks do naff all. They're thin bits of material that have been left in my car in a scrunched up ball. We are still using the same 5 disposable masks we got last summer. They're probably responsible for about 20 new strains of covid that evolved in my glove box.

No. Had I wanted to say that, I would have said it.

My own experience is that peoples' masks do not appear to be particularly manky and, as I said initially, if medical professionals such as Chris Whitty and Rachel Clarke see significant value in them being worn, I would tend to follow their lead.

I would be very surprised if surgeons needed much training in how to put on their mask.

@adeleh

No. Had I wanted to say that, I would have said it.

My own experience is that peoples' masks do not appear to be particularly manky and, as I said initially, if medical professionals such as Chris Whitty and Rachel Clarke see significant value in them being worn, I would tend to follow their lead.

I would be very surprised if surgeons needed much training in how to put on their mask.

You directly compared the wearing of single use medical grade masks by surgeons in operating theatres to the wearing of flimsy, often unwashed masks by the general public.

It's a silly comparison.

This explains it

@Starlightstarbright1

This explains it

Sorry wrong thread

I asked (pretty mildly) if people who think there is no value to wearing masks would feel the same way if medical staff didn't wear them, yes. I didn't say it was identical, as you claim. Of course it isn't - it's part of a sterile, carefully controlled environment. The masks aren't always as different as you claim, though. I had a minor procedure performed just last week where the staff treating me were wearing the bog-standard disposable surgical masks that so many of us are used to wearing. Not all procedures demand a higher quality of mask.

It’s been said before but if masks actually worked and potentially ‘caught’ covid virus particles, then why aren’t there yellow lidded biohazard bins all over the place for their disposal. Surely putting a potentially virus laden mask in a normal bin risks spreading it?

Yes if ever I visit the doctor or a hospital, yes on public transport. Not sure about shops, as I tend to go at quiet times and use self-service tills.

@Lostinacloud

It’s been said before but if masks actually worked and potentially ‘caught’ covid virus particles, then why aren’t there yellow lidded biohazard bins all over the place for their disposal. Surely putting a potentially virus laden mask in a normal bin risks spreading it?

We put tissues in regular bins too after blowing our noses on them.

No. I’m exempt anyway but try to wear one for short periods eg on the train or in taxis or to doctors appointments.

I look forward to not been glared at for my lack of mask, or being questioned by shop assistants as to why I’m not wearing one!

Surely putting a potentially virus laden mask in a normal bin risks spreading it?

Only if you regularly stick your head in bins and take a deep breath or rummage about in them.

I will but only because I’m pregnant and haven’t been vaccinated yet.

@SoupDragon 😂😂😂

@frazzledasarock ah but tissues containing bog standard coronavirus haven’t required the entire world to be shut down. The covid virus is apparently deadly to all since, vulnerable or not, everyone has to be vaccinated and in fact, unwell or not, everyone has to wear a mask. Surely any material containing this deadly virus should not be discarded whenever.

No I won’t. I don’t mind if other people do though. It’s a matter of personal choice.

Wednesday's data showed there had been a further 32,548 confirmed Covid cases.

And there were another 33 deaths reported within 28 days of a positive Covid test.

It comes as Boris Johnson has defended the government's approach to easing England's lockdown, saying the link between infection and serious disease and death has been "severed".

I will continue to wear a mask, especially as I’m not having the vaccine and masks apparently do provide others some protection if I wear one.