Well, well, well face masks mandatory on public transport now

[Cherryghost]

It's now mandatory to wear face mask on public transport with exceptions for disability, young children etc.
This should have been done ages ago.
They also admitting face masks offers some protection

Get a few and if you need to remove them then you can change into a clean one and remember to sanitize hands afterwards

Oops replied to wrong bit. Was meant to reply to @twinnywinny14

@Pelleas

I predict that Mumsnet will be soon be full of the following threads :

AIBU not to wear a mask
AIBU to think they should have been wearing masks
AIBU to have told someone off for not wearing a mask
AIBU to be upset because I was told off for not wearing a mask
AIBU to make my children wear masks
AIBU not to make my children wear masks
AIBU to be embarrassed by DH's refusal to wear a mask
AIBU to ask whether you'd prefer spots, stripes or flowers on a mask

Masks will become the new P&C parking spaces.

@Mascotte

For those asking, yes, you do have to wash them after every wear, and you need to remove them without touching anything else, store them somewhere like a sealed bag, wash hands immediately.

That's why they're not brilliant protection

Just because they are not 100% foolproof doesn't mean they are not highly effective. There is no need to discount or rubbish something that is a proven aid to the problem simply because it's not bullet proof.

I bought a 50 pack of disposable from amazon and some handmade ones recently.(I found the hand made ones too big to look like they would be properly effective but they fit DH) As for all that extra washing, they literally take up about as much space as a sock in the washing machine! DH has been wearing them on the train to work for several weeks and it hasn't made any diference to the amount of washing I do.

I’ll wear a Scream mask, or a mask with some anti-lockdown slogan on; nobody will know it’s me because they can’t see my face.

@jings lucky for you that you only need to go out a few times a week those going to and from work twice a day and then maybe having to also wear at work ,likely will need at least two masks and have to store it sensibly when they take off at work
Not saying they shouldn't be worn but a bit more guidance on safety using them , pointless loads using them incorrectly ,otherwise it defeats the object
Also correct way to wash them , does it have to be 60 or would 40 do ?

Tut tut. Again, use your common sense. You're in possibly the 5% of the population which has a legitimate problem. This obviously doesn't apply to the folks who can't wear masks for specific medical or mental health reasons. If it doesn't apply, let it fly.

How fucking patronising can you get!

Oh and by the way - something I forgot in my ridiculously long post earlier....
The government here (another EU country) told us from the time when they introduced the masks that masks would be compulsory until there is a vaccine!!!
So if the UK government starts telling you that, don't get stressed about it or anything.
It's bollocks. Our masks are being ditched on the 15th June and there is no sign of any vaccine appearing any time soon.

I wouldn’t mind if they put an official review date or an end date on these kinds of instruction.

I know I’m apparently in the minority but I don’t want this new normal. I want the old normal. What worries me most about all of these measures is that they are here to stay.

@MadameMarie

If you don't want to wear one you have the option to drive/walk or ride a bike and maybe cab drivers will let you in without a mask.

If you want to get a bus or a train cover your face.

No, I don't have those options. I walk to the shop, but I need to get the bus back, as the shopping is bulky and heavy. I can't ride a bike or drive a car (even if I had them) safely as I have co-ordination and processing issues. I can't afford a taxi (even assuming you are right about being allowed not to wear one).

And nor will many other autistic people have these options.

What's going to happen is that despite this supposed exemption for disability, many people won't able to prove it, and either the driver will refuse to let them on, or other passengers will harass them about it.

That is systemic discrimination.

@Pelleas

I predict that Mumsnet will be soon be full of the following threads :

AIBU not to wear a mask
AIBU to think they should have been wearing masks
AIBU to have told someone off for not wearing a mask
AIBU to be upset because I was told off for not wearing a mask
AIBU to make my children wear masks
AIBU not to make my children wear masks
AIBU to be embarrassed by DH's refusal to wear a mask
AIBU to ask whether you'd prefer spots, stripes or flowers on a mask

This is funny because it will happen.

@jings your also very patronising to others some are allowed to not like it or agree with it or have issues wearing one
It's a big change to normal and people take time to adjust it's not like we will all be wearing one forever

I suffer from claustrophobia officer

The country I live in made them compulsory in private cars too if people from different households were travelling together - eg. car shares to work; friends going out somewhere (now that the lockdown has been relaxed).

@strugglingwithdeciding those are totally understandable concerns. I was going from the assumption of people who are furloughed or working from home. For those who may still have to go out every single day for work, then yes a few more fabric masks may be handy. But still, not "loads" as initially mentioned by another poster. You can probably still get by with 4 if you don't want to wash them every day after returning home.

Like I said in my response to @Gwenhwyfar, if you don't want to put on a load of washing just for your masks, you can wash them in the bathroom sink or a basin. Use boiling water from a kettle if need be. It is genuinely a quick task that takes about 30 seconds to do when you get home after being outside. :)

I wonder if masks will become the new advertising thing? I'm cheap and easy, if, say, Greggs want to give me free coffee if I wear a Greggs mask I'd be up for it. Might pitch this as an idea .

you can order a badge that says 'I'm asthmatic', I got one a couple of weeks ago - it's given me a bit of peace of mind. I've been trying to get used to wearing a silk scarf round my face anyway, bit it's still been quite warm recently and sometimes I need to air my chops!

Call me unreasonable but I really get concerned when anyone thinks it's a good idea for certain sections of society to identify themselves by wearing some kind of label.

i'm apparently in the minority but I don’t want this new normal. I want the old normal. What worries me most about all of these measures is that they are here to stay.

Agreed. And I loathe "the new normal" as a term.

Why are posters going on about loss of freedom/civil rights etc. What a load of rubbish. Wearing a face covering could help reduce the transmission and save someone else - grow up or don’t use public transport.

@Iwalkinmyclothing

I wonder if masks will become the new advertising thing? I'm cheap and easy, if, say, Greggs want to give me free coffee if I wear a Greggs mask I'd be up for it. Might pitch this as an idea .

Shame there's no way I can make a mask from all the Tesco shopping bags I've gathered now that delivering in bags is compulsory. I have so many, it's ridiculous.

@BamboozledandBefuddled that response was to someone who deliberately acted like this would apply to everyone when common sense says there would be exceptions for people in her situation or other medical conditions.

Other posters and I keep asking people to use common sense and people keep throwing up whataboutisms. Sorry if that sounds condescending @strugglingwithdeciding but at a certain point after several months the handwringing gets annoying. The UK has dithered on this for months and then cries, "Why are we still getting sick at a much higher rate than everyone else???" It's because the UK (especially England) didn't take science-led and common sense actions that other countries did. The answer really is that simple.

I’d just like to add, where I live this is going to be totally pointless as most of the people are sharing drugs and bodily fluids about all weekend at relentless house parties, then strapping on a mask to get on the bus to their cleaning job in a hospital... there is mucho governmental naivety here.

I don't mind wearing one if I use public transport and it's mandatory, my brother is a bus driver so he would have preferred it to mandatory from day 1 not months later!

Wonder if it will hide my double chin? Could be a blessing in disguise 😀