Saw some amazing mask-wearing behaviour today...

[Titsywoo]

Went to Costco with DH. The way people were behaving when wearing masks was quite astounding. Lots of people coming so close to me that their shoulders were touching mine. Most people wearing masks kept pulling them down so they were hanging around their necks. One bloke pulled his down to cough then put it back on . The staff at the tills were mainly wearing theirs on their chins or removing them to shout at other staff members across the shop. Honestly why bother?!

I was also under the impression that that was the case Barbara

I also mentioned to my mum that I was making 2 each (might make more if it looks like we need them) for dc and me. She said 1 was enough as they are washable. Apparently said 1 each is enough and has been making them for the nhs and selling online so she would know

It's for all these reasons why there was so much resistance from health authorities to mask wearing. Unless you understand what you're doing they actually increase infection risk

I suppose 1 each is enough if you can wash and dry them before you need to go out again.

YY to the fit testing, men with beards etc. Plus they are single use and the FF2/3 ones are expensive so there's no way that the average supermarket numpty is wearing a new one of those every time they go out.

I would honestly ban gloves and masks for members of the public until they've sat through at least an hour's training on how to use them and every item is printed with their address so if they drop them on the ground, they can be traced and appropriate fines issued.

It's for all these reasons why there was so much resistance from health authorities to mask wearing. Unless you understand what you're doing they actually increase infection risk

And yet if you try and explain why you're against compulsory masks for the public, you get accused of spreading 'anti mask propaganda'.

Yep a lot of masks being worn badly here in Scotland .
Not covering noses
Being touched and fiddled with.
Getting in close because they think the mask protects them.
I am NHS so I do recognise when a mask is being worn badly.
Today in our local Marks and Spencers foodhall l watched one elderly woman handle 9 different packs of chicken before walking away.
Groups of young children running amok touching things and then putting them back.
Far too many in store and no one way system.
Check out queues stretching far into shopping aisles .
Felt really uncomfortable.
Wont be back out for a while.

I can't imagine everyone is washing them between uses though. I know my mum wears hers on and off throughout the day. She said she chucks it in the machine every few days.
I've told ds1 (who uses public transport for school) that he needs to wear 1 on the way there and one on the way home. I also spent time making sure they know how to put them on and off properly.

I used to work in healthcare so have a small amount of knowledge about ppe.

Son went to the dentist yesterday, they gave him a mask to wear. He didn't have it on for very long though, you can't do much dentistry if patient is wearing a mask....

@chatwoo @CountreeGurl - not sure how it would be possible to smoke with a mask on? Surely even if people aren't wearing them literally all the time but still a lot of the time it still helps? Better than not wearing one atall?

It's for all these reasons why there was so much resistance from health authorities to mask wearing. Unless you understand what you're doing they actually increase infection risk

Is there resistance from health authorities? I thought the opposite was the case now, on the basis that the mask wearer is protecting others, not the person wearing the mask.

Wearing a mask correctly is not rocket science, millions of people around the world manage to do it with demonstrable infection control benefits. Are we less intelligent than all those other countries? I suspect not.

A proper public health campaign would mean that the majority could do it properly. It's proven to work. I really don't understand why this government is against it.

It is annoying if people are doing it wrong (and relaxing social distancing) but since the government said 1m+ with additional measures and then didn't bother to tell people how to use those additional measures properly, it's not surprising.

Some people don't even know what 1m+ means - they think it means distance to 1m and more if you can. But hardly suprising as bumbling Boris has been less than clear all along.

Trump thinks his mask makes him look like the Lone Ranger - he's definitely put it on wrong.

Yad-y-yada. I think England’s covid death rate is appalling, and the anti-mask propaganda mahoosively contributing.

^ this

People get too close to me in the supermarket even when they don't wear a mask. So if they were wearing a mask that would be better than nothing. Most people round where I live dont wear them in shops and the ones that do seem to be more conscientious about distancing from others. The main reason for wearing a mask is to stop the spread of droplets from circulating in an enclosed space so touching your mask and then touching an object doesn't completely negate the point of wearing one. It is to protect others from your droplets that you expel as you breathe/talk/cough

The main reason for wearing a mask is to stop the spread of droplets from circulating in an enclosed space so touching your mask and then touching an object doesn't completely negate the point of wearing one. It is to protect others from your droplets that you expel as you breathe/talk/cough
This. ^. I think people sometimes confuse ppe as worn in hospital etc and face coverings (could be a scarf) worn by the general public to protect others.

Endless since over a fifth of all infection spread was in hospitals where masks and visa were used routinely how do you explain this. Social distancing is by far the most effective way of limiting spread and, as is demonstrated by this thread, when you bring in masks everyone forgets the social distancing rules.
Incorrect mask use combined with overconfidence by the wearer will increase infection rate.

The high rate of infection in hospitals is widely known to have been caused in part by a lack of PPE In hospitals and PPE shortages in healthcare settings. The latest studies coming out are showing the efficacy of Mask wearing/face coverings in public. The study accounts for behavioural effects of mask wearing also. This article is helpful and has links to a recent study www.ucsf.edu/news/2020/06/417906/still-confused-about-masks-heres-science-behind-how-face-masks-prevent. Anecdotally the majority of people who come too close to me in public spaces are not wearing masks and since they’re not distancing it would be better if a mask was worn

PPE in healthcare has always been for the protection of the wearer not the patient. Masks are changed between patients ( or were pre covid). In addition face shields are used. Data available for healthcare settings cannot be used for general social settings.
Interesting data emerging from hospital studies suggests that domiciliary staff have been super spreaders in healthcare environments, probably because they are not in direct contact with patients so are not properly trained in barrier infection control. Clinical staff have had much higher level of training particularly in how to doff and don PPE.
I will continue to restate that mask wearing is insignificant in infection control unless extensive training/instruction is given!

Stories like OP's slightly fascinate me.
Most people who are risk adverse in one area of life, are usually risk adverse in many areas of life. This is the rule of thumb but it's backed up by data on real people. The people most likely choosing to wear masks are the people most scared of getting virus & likely to be most careful in every area about avoiding it. I would expect them to be the most careful about keeping 2m away hand sanitising, too.

Risk compensation is something you observe most easily in people are aren't that risk adverse but may have been forced (compelled by law for instance) into taking a precaution (such as mandatory bike helmets); on the back of that mandated action they compensate behaviour back to their natural high risk tolerance.

So the idea that people voluntarily wearing masks act invincible is bizarre, it turns all the psychological research on its head. I wonder why?

Will someone fund me to sit in a shop & systematically observe behaviour of mask-wearers and non-mask wearers? :)