If face masks are made mandatory...

[CathyandHeathcliff]

How long do people suspect they will be needed / kept mandatory?

So you will have to wear one in a shop - but not in a pub or a restaurant I presume? This is nonsense.

If he wants the economy to bounce back they will not be made mandetory... People won't go out shopping nor ay if masks are mandetory...

@Forgone90

If he wants the economy to bounce back they will not be made mandetory... People won't go out shopping nor ay if masks are mandetory...

I'm in Scotland where they are now mandatory in shops and our town centre was pretty busy today. Most people wearing masks, lots of shops having masks to hand out/sell at the door. Seems fine.

@frumpety

I have worn both at work with glasses *@HandsOffMyRights* , the visor didn't cause fogging like the masks do

@vanillandhoney that's fair enough , I wondered if because they don't touch the face apart from a strip on the forehead, whether they would be better for people who cannot wear masks.

Absolutely - I think they could definitely work for those who struggle because of breathing difficulties.

Maybe people will feel MORE secure to go shopping if everyone wore masks.

Not less.

it's not masks that keep shops empty. it's confidence.

If he wants the economy to bounce back they will not be made mandetory... People won't go out shopping nor ay if masks are mandetory...

People are going out though? Yesterday saw a one hour queue to get into Primark - pictures in the local paper. DS waited 40 mins for Halfords. I waited 20 mins to get into Sainsbury's. DD was at work and her retail store had a constant queue from about 10am through 6pm.

We are in Scotland. That was day ONE of mandatory face masks. People were going out shopping.

Fuck masks.

Nasty ineffectual, virtue signalling pieces of rubbish. They're just pseudo comfort blankets that give people false security. Most are poorly fitting and fiddled around with causing cross contamination.

We've come this far with social distancing which works.

I like being able to breathe.
I like being able to hold two-way communication where you can actually see what people are saying and hear their words.
Masks are problematic for so many reasons.

This

Wear a mask has replaced Stay at Home which again was something that only really happened online - in real life most people are just getting on with it without accosting strangers for perceived digressions

Well said; this excitement which breaks out at the prospect of controlling others can be very worrying, besides which if this was worth doing at all it needed to be done much earlier

Just use a bit of common sense for pity's sake: keep a sensible distance, avoid crowded places, keep your coughs in a hanky/sleeve and all the rest of it ... you know, just like most of us have done throughout

I've been wearing them from the beginning. I'm sick of the whinging about it tbh.

I wore a mask for the first time yesterday to go round Asda and by aisle 2 I was feeling really odd and had a patch of sweat on my back. I flew round the shop as quickly as possible.

The thought of having to do this for another year fills me with horror.

I've been wearing them from the beginning. I'm sick of the whinging about it tbh.

This x infinity

Masks do work (even a scarf over nose and mouth): that is why many of the countries that have lower infection rates and better handling of the pandemic have made them mandatory. They protect others, and do even protect the wearer if they wear them correctly. There is plenty of scientific evidence. If they didn't work, hospitals and dentists would not use them. The public just need to get used to it, and find a version that works for them.
They are needed until enough people have had a vaccine that infection rates are low enough.

@HandsOffMyRights

Dom and I have tried with several types of mask. Can I ask what type you wear and how you adjust it to mitigate against steam on glasses? (I've tried tissue inside across the gap, but that hasn't worked either).

www.boots.com/boots-type-2-protective-face-masks-20-pack-10283654

If I pinch the top it stops hot breath moving upwards. The simpler the better, I would say.

We use the synthetic control method to analyze the effect of face masks on the spread of Covid-19 in Germany. Our identification approach exploits regional variation in the point in time when face masks became compulsory. Depending on the region we analyse, we find that face masks reduced the cumulative number of registered Covid-19 cases between 2.3% and 13% over a period of 10 days after they became compulsory. Assessing the credibility of the various estimates, we conclude that face masks reduce the daily growth rate of reported infections by around 40%.
ftp.iza.org/dp13319.pdf
Study showing how masks can help. There are no studies showing masks cause any harm

Fabellini What, scientifically, is that poster trying to tell me? Because I am sure we all know that we cannot see Covid particles.

really? You really don't get the poster? No, you're just point scoring.
The poster is obvious, this is how your breath disapates with and without a mask. If your breath happens to have covid-19 in it, then the mask will help you not to spread it.
Not really rocket science is it?

I hate masks, but I'll wear one if I have to. I have a lot of sympathy for those who can't, and for those lip reading etc, but I don't have much sympathy for those who just don't want to.
I didn't want to home school my kids for 4 months, but I have, because, you know, sometimes that is what life is.

It is not proven masks are the reason for lower infections at all. It could be better care of the elderly, PPE where needed earlier, shitting down earlier and even people washing hands! Plenty of eminent people don’t believe masks are the answer. You have to control everything else. We would have better served by a lot of different policies but face masks is on the periphery. Politicians now to public whim. It’s an easy “solution” to sell it as staying safe and protecting others”. Lots of people don’t agree and therefore we cannot move forward with confidence in the government. It’s another knee jerk policy.

Sorry: shutting down..... not my earlier word!

The problem is that masks are put on and off. Not worn properly. Not made of suitable materials. Not disposed of hygienically. Worn too long. So many issues that ensure they are not very effective. Catching particles and then touching the masks spreads infection. So not a great idea for the public or children.

@Srictlybakeoff wow, that's great research. I hope people read your comment and see that masks/face covering are proven to work.

For most people, masks/face covering are a minor inconvenience/discomfort. These people should find a version that works for them as soon as possible and accept that this is needed for the common good for the foreseeable future or until there is a vaccination programme.

For the minority of people with a genuine medical/psychological reason why they cannot wear a mask/face covering, this issue is causing stress and distress, and therefore a visible official exemption method needs to be developed so that they are able to go out without worrying about abuse. Is there an existing scheme, e.g. badge?

I suspect that face coverings offer a little bit of protection against mass disease spread if most people wear them at least some of the time. I think that's what the big observational studies are getting to a consensus about.

But it wouldn't surprise me if I'm wrong. I just have a hunch.

I guess the thing about face covers being mandatory is that they remind me that I'm a biohazard whose only value is as a consumer and otherwise my presence can barely be tolerated. It's not exactly relaxing or encouraging me to feel optimistic about spending.

They’ve been mandatory whenever you’re outside your own home in the country I live in since the start of the pandemic. You can take them off in bars and restaurants once your food is served, but you have to put it on to go to the loo.

When the schools go back, they must be worn in school by everyone over 6.

Tbh, it’s second nature now when leaving the house - phone, key, money, mask. And the temperature here in summer is in the 40s. Every single person is waring a mask in public.

@steppemum

Fabellini What, scientifically, is that poster trying to tell me? Because I am sure we all know that we cannot see Covid particles.

really? You really don't get the poster? No, you're just point scoring.
The poster is obvious, this is how your breath disapates with and without a mask. If your breath happens to have covid-19 in it, then the mask will help you not to spread it.
Not really rocket science is it?

I hate masks, but I'll wear one if I have to. I have a lot of sympathy for those who can't, and for those lip reading etc, but I don't have much sympathy for those who just don't want to.
I didn't want to home school my kids for 4 months, but I have, because, you know, sometimes that is what life is.

It's not obvious - it is a picture. It is not scientific proof of anything. What mask are they wearing? What actual protection do you get? It is showing if both in masks there is no "breath" coming out but we know that's not true don't we? We know that the virus is small enough to get out of any normal mask so lets not pretend that that is a useful picture as it is not explaining the risks at all in fact it is doing the opposite and maintaining a false sense of security.

I am in shielding group and have started to get out and about local to me (Scotland) in the last week or so. Seen a definite increase in mask wearing since it became mandatory in shops this week. Everyone at our local shops appeared to be complying today, still social distancing and was quite cheerful about it. As a vulnerable person, this definitely eased my anxiety. And vast majority of people just seem to be getting on with it. It can be done - clear guidance from the government makes the difference.

I’m so baffled by all the resistance to masks. They’ve been compulsory everywhere since lockdown lifted where I live and they are just a part of life I don’t even think about now. I understand that for some there are anxiety or sensory issues that might be a problem but otherwise...just don’t see a problem at all.

Oh and I would be far more likely to come to the Uk as a tourist (and spend my money!) if mask use increases.