there should be a government campaign to make your own masks...

[jobhunter7]

Surely this would help if as many people as possible were wearing masks... and understandably perhaps the government want to make sure medics have them first...

Sort of depends - some might be tempted to assume that their mask will protect others and go out and about even with a cough etc.

The people wearing masks were the ones standing far too close and leaning over me to get things when I was in the supermarket yesterday.

Well millions of people are now being asked to have no job. I think the news from yesterday is way bigger than home made masks. It’s catastrophic for millions of workers. The economy will be wrecked and it will be catastrophic fairly soon with redundancies already being contemplated. There is no real thinking about how to get the UK working again. Making masks is a bit of a side show now.

Unfortunately I think that may be true, but I still think we should be trying to do what we can. Some countries have seem to got on top of things.

@Gruffawoah I have cobbled together a couple of different patterns but quite like the duck billed ones. Take your time with a cut out piece of paper and adjust as you need to before going for the final one.

"The WHO is 'against it'" -- the WHO also said it's not a pandemic for a good while...

The WHO have said there is not enough evidence to make recommendations for or against it at the moment but they are keeping a close eye and encouraging research from any country that introduces it.

'Pandemic' is a meaningless word in terms of WHO response or the response they expect from countries. They declared a global public health emergency on January 30th, which is the highest level of alert under international law. At the time, outside of China, there were 82 cases, 10 of which were in Europe, and no deaths.

There was huge pressure on WHO to also declare a 'pandemic' which they resisted because they feared calling it that would lead to countries thinking it was all hopeless and giving up on containment efforts. Eventually they relented and declared a 'pandemic' in the hope that certain western countries might start taking the threat seriously.

Lo and behold, the next thing we got from our government was a scaling back of testing, abandoning of contact tracing, 'herd immunity', 'many of your loved ones will die' etc.

Loads of people signed up to be NHS volunteers when the call went out... government just need to do the same to get people making masks...

As a shielder, I'm all for encouraging everyone who is out and about, to wear a home made or bought face covering to minimise risk to others.

Medical grade masks MUST be reserved for front line health and care workers.

The widespread wearing of a face covering for all, is the only way I can see that shielders, like me, will ever be able to come out of lockdown with some degree of safety.

I appreciate that there is unlikely to ever be any guarantee of complete safety from this virus in my lifetime but anything that may help should be adopted IMHO.

What we really need is testing, tracing and hygiene. Face masks are no substitute.

Bubbles face masks are part of hygiene, just one part, you need to keep up the other bits also, keep washing your hands.

i think face masks are essential along with other precautions.

BubblesBuddy, your posts are confusing. "Industries are being decimated therefore we should not bother with masks" makes no sense. The whole point of masks is that they provide a way to come out of lockdown, combined with other measures. Many countries which have masked up (plus quarantine, testing and tracing) have mostly managed to avoid full lockdown altogether. They are the model we should be looking towards.

@BubblesBuddy you know you can do both, right? Also it will be months before sufficient testing is carried out going by the governments incompetence so far.

Other useful equipment could be a religious symbol of choice, perhaps a nice hand of Fatima or symbol to ward off the evil eye, string of garlic (round neck could be useful), or my favourite ... a flying penis amulet .

All totally guaranteed to keep illness away and used over the centuries. Now a nice homemade mask - zero proof it works, but you feel better wearing it, so that's the main thing. Proactive. Love it.

This thread is bonkers! Sorry but I think we'll look back at this in a few months with a very different opinion. Masks are increasingly being shown to make a huge difference to the spread of the virus because it means those who have it but show no symptoms are up to 36 times less likely to spread it. It doesn't cut spread 100% but many many fewer die if most people wear masks. Seriously, if you don't want to wear a mask you are increasing the chances that when restrictions ease a bit you will be a link in the chain where someone else further along then dies. It's such a small step to take to protect the vulnerable. And I say that being someone who hates things near my neck or face.

I think (I hope!) there will be more awareness of this in the coming weeks and the tide turns. It is not going to be socially acceptable for long without wearing them. I am actually in favour of them being mamdatory simply because society matters more than any individual snd I would rather some people were pissed off and more lives were saved.

Masks can be slightly helpful if worn by people WITH Corona virus but not to stop you catching it and they MUST still observe social distancing. I guess it is like wearing a tissue over your face to catch droplets - but without the ‘putting it in the bin’ bit. Better than being out and about not coughing into a tissue but not as good as staying at home or coughing into a tissue and discarding it. They encourage people to touch their face (unconscious) and make people wearing them feel over-confident. They don’t stop the virus being breathed in.

When shopping it is the people with face masks who seem more inclined to ignore the 2 metre rule.

People can be asymptomatic, that's why everyone wearing a mask is important, those with symptoms should be at home anyway. It's a bit of cotton over your nose and mouth that could save lives, costs about £1 and people are weirdly frothy about it, odd.

I dunno, I've seen a lot of people I trust (scientists, medics etc) suggesting that we really should encourage mass mask-wearing in public places (not going for a walk outdoors, that would be stupid, but in shops, on buses, etc). The problem is that our way of life has to change in order to come out of lockdown anyway - we'll have to keep social distancing, workplaces and schools will be very different for a long time - and correct mask use is a massive extra burden on that.

The public would have to be educated in what sort of DIY mask is worthwhile (I don't think knitted scarf material is 'worth it' since the fabric has massive holes and gaps), how to wear it, how to put it on and take off, not to stuff in pockets, to wear glasses with the mask if possible (could non-glasses wearers get clear glass specs??), not to touch the mask and how to wash it (in fact, it's the soap that counts, not especially hot temperatures). How often to change it. DIY ones are going to run the entire spectrum from 'pretty good' to 'worse than useless' and that has to be taken into account.

However, I still think it's better than nothing. I suspect many people will go ahead and make DIY fabric ones, or buy them, regardless of whether the government makes it policy, so they're going to need to come up with some simple guidelines pretty quickly.

I would be making them myself but my sewing machine is buggered! I've been hand-sewing masks with several layers of baby wipes, elastics and wire for the nose bridge when I've needed to go to a supermarket. They fit well, it's a non-woven fabric, but obviously not designed to block viruses. They're also disposable and only take me about 20 minutes to hand-sew.

@Aesopfable - I agree, mask wearers tend to be the ones not respecting distancing.

I’ll wait the government and scientific advice and if the instructions change, see how it is planned to distribute masks to the general public.

A few far flung bonkers countries populated by people who don't even speak English, think that mask wearing is a good idea. They seem to have a weird idea that protecting others from asymptomatic carriers ig good.

PLEASE
wear a mask, protect others
act like you have it

Argentina : After appearance of three asymptomatic cases, the capital Buenos Aires introduced compulsory masking since April 14. Wearing a mask was made obligatory for everyone on public transit and everyone who contacts with the public in their position. Violators can face a fine. Authorities also prohibited the sale of N95 face masks to non-medical workers, suggesting the general public to use home-made masks instead.[85]

Austria: Everyone entering a supermarket, a grocery store or a drug store must wear a face mask.[86][87]

The Bahamas: On April 19, the prime minister announced that wearing a mask or covering one's face with clothing is mandatory in public. Employers must provide their employees who are serving the general public with masks.[88]

Bahrain: The Kingdom made wearing face masks in public areas compulsory for citizens and residents as well as shop workers.[89]
Benin Benin: From April 8, Benin's authorities began enforcing the mandatory wearing of face masks to halt the coronavirus.[90]

Bosnia and Herzegovina: Wearing a face mask is compulsory.[91][92]

Bulgaria: Bulgaria's government passed an order imposing the obligation to wear face masks.[93]

Cambodia: Many Cambodians started wearing face masks soon after the outbreak began in Wuhan. Businesses started to require customers to wear masks.[94]

Cameroon City's Mayor announced wearing a mask will be mandatory to slow the spread of coronavirus.[95]

Chile: From April 8, Chilean Health Minister announced wearing a mask is mandatory in public transit. [96]

China: Healthy individuals are advised to wear disposable medical masks in public places.[2][33] Some local governments require wearing masks when going outside. Shanghai makes wearing masks mandatory in public places. [97]

Colombia: In response to the most recent recommendations of the World Health Organization, Colombia changed its policy on the use of masks and made it mandatory throughout the country for the use of public transport during the coronavirus emergency.[98]

Cuba: From April 6, wearing a mask is now mandatory.[99]

Czech Republic: Forbidden to go out in public without wearing a mask or covering one's nose and mouth.[100]

Democratic Republic of Congo: : The wearing of masks is now mandatory throughout the capital.[101]

Ecuador: On April 8, the Emergency Operations Committee (COE) decided to make face masks obligatory in public spaces.[102]

Ethiopia: The Council of Ministers has approved a regulation that outlaws handshakes and obligates the use of face masks in public places.[103]

France: On March 3, the government issued a degree announcing requisition of stocks of FFP2 and anti-splash masks until May 31, 2020.[104] Mask wearing is recommended but not compulsory

Gabon : On April 10, the Gabonese government announced Individuals in all parts of the country are required to wear masks in public to limit the spread of COVID-19.[105]

Germany: On March 31, Jena was the first bigger German city to introduce an obligation to wear masks, or makeshift masks including scarves, in supermarkets, public transport, and buildings with public traffic.[106] On April 2, the Robert Koch Institute, the federal epidemic authority, changed its previous recommendation that only people with symptoms should wear masks to also include people without symptoms.[107]

Guinea: Guinean President Alpha Conde has decided to make wearing masks compulsory.[108]
Honduras Honduras: From April 7, Honduras President announced all citizens will now be required to cover their mouths when they are outside.[109]

Hong Kong: Members of the public are recommended to wear a surgical mask when taking public transport or staying in crowded places.[34]

India: From April 6, Now in Odisha wearing face masks has been made compulsory across the State.[110]
Indonesia Indonesia: Citizens were ordered to wear face masks when they leave the house.[111]

Israel: All residents are asked to wear face masks when in public.[112]

Italy: Regions of Lombardy and Tuscany made wearing a face mask compulsory before going out in early April.[113]

Japan: Masks have been widely used by healthy individuals despite absence of official advice to do so.[114] On March 1, prime minister Shinzo Abe enacted a policy in Hokkaido instructing manufactures to sell facial masks directly to the government, which would then deliver it to residents.[115]

Kenya: Wearing a face mask is compulsory. The government has Kenyans to strictly observe social distancing which has been proved to one of the most efficient ways of preventing infection risks. [116]

Liberia: From April 21, Is now compulsory wearing a face mask or covering in public.[117]

Lithuania: Wearing a face mask or any other means of covering one's nose and mouth in public places is compulsory in Lithuania since 10 April 2020.

Luxembourg: From April 20, wearing a mask will be mandatory in places where it is not possible to keep enough distance to others such as supermarkets or on public transport.[118]

Malaysia: Masks have been widely used by healthy individuals despite absence of official advice to do so.[119] On March 17, Malaysia banned exports of medical and surgical masks to meet local demand.[120] In April, the government was set to distribute 24.62 million masks, four for each household, while advising people to only use them if they have symptoms.[111]

Mexico: From April 17, all Mexico City Metro passengers must wear masks while inside stations and on trains, Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum announced on April 15.[121]

Mongolia: Wearing a mask is now mandatory while riding public transportation in Ulaanbaatar. Public officials and news broadcasters had even adopted to wearing masks through press conferences and news broadcasts. [122]

Morocco: Wearing a face mask is compulsory.[123]

Mozambique: The Mozambican government announced on April 8 that wearing face masks is now compulsory on all forms of passenger transport, and wherever groups of people are gathered.[124]

North Macedonia: As of April 22, citizens of Kumanovo, Tetovo and Prilep must wear protective masks and gloves outside their homes, at public places, outdoor and indoor areas, markets and shops, announced the government on April 18.[125]

Pakistan: The Balochistan government on April 18 told citizens to wear face masks when going outside. According to the Liaquat Shahwani, the citizens have been urged to wear masks or to cover their faces with any cloth in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak.[126]
Panama Panama: Panama has made it obligatory to wear a face mask whenever going outside, while also recommending the manufacture of a homemade cloth face mask to those who cannot purchase face masks.[127]

Peru: From April 7, The Peruvian government started distributing free masks after decreeing their mandatory use in the streets to chase away the new coronavirus, said President Martin Vizcarra on April 3.[128]

Philippines: From 2 April, the government required all those living in areas under enhanced community quarantine to wear face masks.[129]

Poland: Since April 16, covering lips and nose is compulsory before leaving one's house (e.g., by a disposable mask, cloth mask or scarf).[130]

Russia: Khabarovsk has made the wearing of face masks obligatory to fight the spike in respiratory diseases and prevent the spread of the coronavirus. [131]

Rwanda: On April 20, Daniel Ngamije said the latest guidelines require everyone to wear a mask in public, and at home during the lockdown and thereafter. [101]

Singapore: Masks have been widely used by healthy individuals despite absence of official advice to do so.[132]

Spain: the government distributes free face masks for commuters in large transportation hubs, but it is not mandatory to wear them.[133]

Slovakia: Forbidden to go out in public without wearing a mask or covering one's nose and mouth.[100][91]

Slovenia: From March 29, wearing a face mask, even ones made at home, or equivalents such as scarves that cover the mouth and nose will be mandatory along with protective gloves; the decree stipulates that masks and gloves need to be worn in indoor public spaces.[134]
South Korea South Korea: Masks have been widely used by healthy individuals despite absence of official advice to do so.[135] The government implemented a policy of centralized procurement and rationing of face masks, purchasing 80 percent of national production since early March.[136]

Taiwan: On January 21, the government announced a temporary ban on the export of face masks.[137] On 6 February, the government instituted a mask rationing system.[138] Taiwan has been producing ten million masks per day since mid-March.[139] On April 1, passengers on trains and intercity buses were required to wear face masks,[140] unmasked riders facing a fine.[141]

Turkey: Residents will be required to wear masks at markets, as Turkish president announced.[142]

Ukraine: Since April 6, wearing a face mask is required by the government in public places. In Kyiv, public places were clarified to include parks and streets.[143]

United States: On April 6, the CDC recommended the wearing of non-medical cloth face coverings when in public places.[144][145] Since April 17, residents of New York must wear masks in public.[146]

Uzbekistan: Officials made protective masks mandatory in all major cities in order to prevent the spread of coronavirus. Officials on March 22 said citizens not wearing masks in public in major cities would be fined $22 for the first offense and $67 for repeat offenses. [147]

Venezuela: The government ordered the country’s citizens to wear face masks in public in response to the arrival of the novel coronavirus. [148]

Vietnam: Since March 16, everyone must wear a face mask when going to public places (such as grocery stores, transportation hubs and public transport).[149]

Zambia: The government made it mandatory to wear face masks to minimise the spread in the country.[150]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Face_masks_during_the_2019%E2%80%9320_coronavirus_pandemic#Mask_use_and_policies_by_country_and_territory

I agree parker. At the moment care workers etc need the masks. I too think wearers become over confident. As I have said above, I don’t think home made ones are valuable but obviously others disagree. As for using a scarf which you then put back in your drawer and don’t wash, how on earth can that be worthwhile to anyone?

@PestymcPestFace all of those stupid countries with no idea that we know better than the rest of the world. Not based on science of course, but we just do.

I think it's time we started to manufacture masks for the general public and sell/distribute them in shops, doctors surgeries, public libraries, etc, and make it compulsory to wear them in public places, or at least enclosed public spaces.
Relying on people making them themselves or buying them from amazon or Ebay isn't good enough.
Same thing with hand sanitiser. It needs to be readily available so that there's a dispenser at the entrance to every public building, so that using it becomes part of our daily routine.
These two measures wouldn't just help control coronavirus, but other infectious diseases as well.

The government won't though, they will rely on people at home to pop some out in their sewing machine for their communities rather than take any sort of control over it.

I think I read on another thread a lot of the wonderful people who signed up to be NHS volunteers still haven't heard more what to do - this is something they could do...