Face coverings need to be mandatory if we want to lower the infection rate

[Redolent]

80-90% of people need to be wearing them for them to have a significant impact in lowering transmission of coronavirus. Once you’re down to 30-40% of people wearing them, there’s almost no benefit - according to modellers at UC Berkeley.

Study here: www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/05/masks-covid-19-infections-would-plummet-new-study-says

I'd say in my area of America at least 90% of people are wearing them in situations where you can't socially distance. It's not that difficult, and it seems to be helping.

It was recently made mandatory but for weeks before that people had been wearing them to grocery stores, etc. As soon as the CDC recommended them it became the norm.

Yeah I’ve heard the same from friendS in the States. Sadly in the UK it’s still somewhat a marker of bravado to not be wearing one...

They are also mandatory inside in my bit of the States and everyone in my area is complying with some kind of face covering.
It hasn't been a huge deal.

We wear them when we go out and many stores have made them mandatory (US). The county judge tried to make them mandatory for all but was overridden by the governor. Because you know, RIGHTS. Meanwhile numbers are going up.

And FWIW wearers of masks need to wear them/handle them appropriately, or they are just collecting the virus on mask and then breathing it in when they push the mask down for while.

If wearing a mask it needs to stay on, covering nose and mouth. When removing the mask it needs to be taken off downwards, away from face in clean swift movement. Then disposed of, or washed, depending on type of mask. Never reused.

The number of people I see with the mask pushed under their nose or chin, while they they chat, eat, sit is remarkable. It's like I've collected the virus and now let me stop to inhale all those collected viruses while I hold the mask near my nose and mouth.

Better to not have a mask and false sense of security than have one and then be more complacent about social distancing/general hygiene.

Are face coverings mandatory in South Korea?

Jenny , face coverings are to stop you, as a possible asymptomatic carrier, from transfering the virus to others. Quite a different concept to medical masks for HCPs who may be leaning over Covid patients.

Of course we all need to stick with hand washing and social distancing. Face coverings are just another tool in the box to help deal with this tricky new virus.

Yes Redolent if 80% to 90% wore face coverings (even quite badly) it would make a huge difference to the efforts to keep R

Jenny70 you are talking crap. Read the articles. A mask isn't to protect you. Its to stop asymptomatic people transmitting virus (or at least reduce it rather than stop). It doesn't have to be medical grade. A scarf will do. There will always people who struggle with this (small children, people with sensory issues etc) but the majority of us could wear them happily.

I've tried practicing wearing a mask round the house but it makes my glasses mist up. Am I wearing it wrong?

Whatever you put on your face all of them are virus catchers, and need to be handled during and after use as if they’ve been dipped in virus.

Yes that's what I was trying to say Purplewithred.

What I was trying to point out is "wearing a mask" needs to be done properly to be effective (whether it's to protect yourself or others), if people are being careless with their masks risk spreading any virus collected by the mask (inside or outside) to surfaces, objects and other people.

I can't wear them. Anything tight across my mouth and nose triggers a massive panic attack thanks to my ptsd.
The teenage child of a friend definitely can't due to their sensory issues.
I know two deaf people who need to lip read.

Making them mandatory would kill me because I wouldn't be able to leave the house.

www.channel4.com/news/should-you-be-wearing-a-face-mask

In England, where do we get masks? And how will those who are in dire financial straits afford to buy them? It would be useful if they were available to buy at supermarket entrances, on a non profit basis.

It would be useful if they were available to buy at supermarket entrances, on a non profit basis.

A friend's family are in Spain, the supermarkets hand out a mask and gloves if yu don't have them, they also only let 1 person in at a time (I don't know how big the supermarket is).

@gran22

www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-8320201/How-make-coronavirus-facemask-sock-five-easy-steps-minute.html

Or you can buy them on etsy...

Would any mask do? I'm seeing loads of homemade ones for sale but are they equally effective? How do i know?

I see hardly anyone wearing a mask and I can't imagine I'd see many more people with them if they were made mandatory.

They would be worn in they were mandatory because you wouldn't be allowed in shops etc without one, all inside public areas have signs insisting on them and social compliance creates an environment where this happens.
I can't imagine that the UK would be any different the US states in this regard.
The difference is that UK governments haven't made in mandatory and enforced this.

Sadly in the UK it’s still somewhat a marker of bravado to not be wearing one...

I don't think it's anything to do with 'bravado'. People just aren't in the habit of wearing them here, don't know where to get one, have had lots of mixed info about the benefits of wearing one.

I think it's a good idea to encourage people to use some kind of face covering, even if just a scarf, but certainly not to make it mandatory and then have the Police stopping people for not having one and all kinds of issues at supermarkets etc.

We also don't know at the moment what the level of transmission from asymptomatic people is - I assume the main transmission is still from those who do have symptoms and are coughing or otherwise dispersing the virus out.

Enough is enough now, they need to be compulsory indoors in public. I think outdoors as long as you're keeping your distance you can exercise without a mask.

@FliesandPies

But there IS evidence for substantial pre-asymptomatic transmission of coronavirus. It’s estimated that around 40% of people who transmit COVID do so without symptoms, and that you are most infectious in the two-three days before you develop symptoms.

There’s been a lot of research on this in the last couple of weeks, but one example below.

www.fr24news.com/a/2020/05/more-than-half-of-covid-19-patients-caught-someones-virus-before-they-developed-symptoms.html

“ One study found that more than half of people infected with coronavirus caught it from someone who had no symptoms.

Irish academics have examined 17 global studies to estimate the amount of transmission that occurs during the “presymptomatic” period.

They found that between 33 and 80 percent of the cases had caught the virus from people who wouldn’t even have thought they were even infected.

...

Dublin researchers have found that more than half of people infected with coronavirus have caught it from someone who has no symptoms. The average incubation period was 5.8 days. Most transmission appears to occur between three days before symptom onset and two days after (photo)”

Redolent I didn't say there was no evidence on asymptomatic transmission but there is not enough, because it is still very early in terms of research, to base firm conclusions on.

It would be very interesting to know how these asymptomatic people are passing the virus on - is it very close contact with close family/friends? Is it infected surfaces?

As I said, I'm definitely not against encouraging people to use face coverings. I just don't want it to be made mandatory while there is not enough evidence to support such a move.

Of course they should be compulsory!

Look at this map
masks4all.co/what-countries-require-masks-in-public/

So tired of all the blokey and whiney comments in UK anti-masks. Every mumsnet post about mask invokes massive anger from anti-mask protestors. If UK was doing ok against covid I could understand it, but we have the most covid deaths in the world right now after USA.