How many people are wearing masks when you go to the supermarket?

[DuPainDuVinDuFromage]

I’m in the north east, and it seems like people are really anti-mask here - I counted the mask-wearers in Lidl and Sainsbury’s today and only about 5-10% of everyone I saw was wearing one. Is this the same in the rest of England and Wales (obviously it’s different in Scotland)? I always feel like a prat wearing one because people stare, and there are loads of couples and families wandering around as if everything was normal. It’s been about the same level all through the lockdown, so it’s not like people are relaxing more now that cases are going down.

South Coast here. I wore a mask for the first time in a shop today, I didn't really pay close attention but I reckon approx 50/50 in a big sainsburys this afternoon.

As to why not wear a mask. I'll try and be honest. I've really struggled with the idea, it feels so alien to me. It's not about not being told what to do, for me anyway.

Asian students wear masks a lot of the time (I'm in a university town). I always think it looks odd and dehumanising, but that's their choice and I have no problem with it.
Muslim women wear face coverings. Again, their / their husband or religions choice. Not for me.

So for me to join the ranks of 'people who wear masks' just feels odd. It's never been something normal for me. Also I feel naively complacent, I'm youngish, healthy, and I very much doubt I'll be hit hard by covid. If I was at all sniffly a) I'd stay home and b) I'd be happy to wear a mask to protect others, but since I'm not coughing I don't feel there is much benefit.

However I can see the writing on the wall and I assume it will become compulsory soon so I've started wearing a mask, just to see how it feels.

I've concluded that it's horrible wiyth glasses, much better with contact lenses. And it's fine. So I'll probably wear one for the foreseeable when I rember to bring one out.

It almost felt like an admission of failure initially, but now more and more people are wearing them it feels more and more OK to me

Waitrose in England, about 5% of staff and customers. Same customers also wearing pointless disposal gloves.

Greater London/Kent borders - in Lidl I'd say 80% customers wear masks and prob 50% staff.
Asda 40% customers maybe 5% staff.
M&S 10% customers and no staff except the security door man!
It's a mix of ages and male/female wearing masks as well, some children too.

I went to Tesco today for the first time since face coverings became mandatory (Scotland) and almost everyone was wearing one bar a couple of staff. I'm not keen on wearing a mask since it's not so easy to breathe, so I don't plan on going to the shops very often at the moment if I can help it.

@happysunr1se

I was the only one wearing a mask in m&s today, that includes the staff.

I have my own shop, I wear a mask for each consultation (some of which go over 15 minutes), because if I get called up by a customer telling me they have tested positive, I believe the fact I wear gloves and mask for each customer visit exempts me from having to isolate in these circumstances. I also am only seeing customers by appointment and clean all surfaces with antiviral spray etc etc after the customer has left, btw.

I really don't understand why british people have this problem with masks. I am not including people with health problems that excuse them from wearing masks, but everyone else.

Why wouldn't you do this small thing for the good of your community. Does it just boil down to; "no one tells me what to do"

Some of my customers even refuse to use the hand sanitizer. One told me I didnt have to wear a mask because she was immune!

So you wear a mask so you don't have to self isolate? Let's hope your ppe is up to the job then. It's hardly self sacrificing though, is it, if you are just protecting your income? I don't blame you. Play that system. Good for you.

In London and shopping at m and s. Before it was easily around 70/80% but that has reduced now to around 50%. I always wear mine as I work in a school and am very aware I could pose a risk to others.

My area very few masks between both staff and public. I’ve no issue wearing masks but why protect others when they aren’t bothered about protecting you?

No it’s not perfect but it could help stop a bigger wave/peak whatever.
I’ve no issues with it becoming more mandatory in more places for a while.

South west here. I wore mine to m&s last week. I was the only one in there wearing one and that includes staff! No social distancing either. I felt uncomfortable to be honest. People doing a double take as i had one on. Add to that i'm a glasses wearer so steaming up all over the place not a pleasant experience. I'm hoping they become mandatory tho so we can protect everyone.

Aldi East Midlands yesterday: me and one other lady

In my local Asda, yesterday I didn’t see anybody wearing a mask except for the pharmacist.
The problem I had was that I really couldn’t understand what she was saying properly, it was all kind of muffled sounding.

Heaven only knows how somebody hard of hearing will manage.

I wouldnt wear a surgical mask indoors unless i was in danger of ejecting vapours which might be infectious ie sneezing and spraying everywhere. In such circumstances i probably would stay at home anyway.

If i was concerned about getting infected from others in an internal space id be looking to wear an FFP3 mask as they are the ones that do not pass the vast majority of virus particles during the inhalation cycle.

As these are rare as rocking horse muck at the moment, i doubt whether many would be wearing them anyway.

I have only been going to our little local Co Op and nobody has been mask wearing.

I read a piece at the weekend though where a female Medical Officer (I think as cant find article now) said she absolutely always wears a mask in any shop/indoor space etc.

I figured she knows lots more than me about this stuff so I will now wear a mask in the shops.

South Norfolk here and hardly anyone bothering with masks at all yet Facebook local community page is full of people raging about the lack of masks...!

We went to Norwich this weekend and apart from the signs on the floor and a queue for Primark you’d think the pandemic had never happened. Hardly any masks, no one social distancing, people getting so close to me on the escalators I thought they were going to hug me!

I'm in the North West, I'd say there was about 5% -10% wearing masks in Morrissons last week, more were wearing them about a month ago.

I recon if I walked round my local ASDA doing my big weekly shop, I would probably see about 10 people in a mask in the space of 45-60 minutes. It really isn’t common here at all. I go out shopping a lot (supermarkets and into town) and I hardly ever see anyone wearing a mask.

Very few here in NW England, mostly prats also wearing disposable gloves and constantly touching the mask.

I'm in the NW and it's roughly 50% and it tends to be the over 70's I see with masks on.

NE here and less than 10% in the supermarket. Even fewer in town. If we have to wear masks I just wouldn't go into town. If it's not safe enough to go out without a mask then I'm not going out with just a cotton, non-face-fitted mask.

Scotland. Everyone wearing them and the vast vast majority wearing them properly as far as I can see. The odd person not wearing it properly but 99.5% certainly seem to be!

I have a feeling people in England will see more in them very soon. I think people might be advised to get used to them, as I imagine they’ll be mandatory very soon in shops.

Sheesh, I don't think people are anti-mask just because the don't wear one. The virus is very suppressed already without widespread mandatory face covering wearing. It simply hasn't been necessary so far.

When the face covers become mandatory it will be so that we can get kids back to school as well, making that kind of additional room in the control strategies, given the high contact rates in schools.

ps: I don't for a moment think face covers are enough to get our kids back to school, I'm pretty sure the kids will still be very part time, but they might at least get SOME ongoing in person education related to better test-n-trace plus face covers plus mass gathering bans + lots of other normal things still being banned.

@TheSandman

I'm in Scotland. I was in 5 stores on Saturday; Lidl, Aldi etc. I only saw ONE person not wearing a mask. And she had a loose scarf bunched up round her face pretending it was one.

I thought the law in Scotland was to wear a face covering - which she was?

Scotland and as soon as it became mandatory everyone seemed to start wearing them. I have been in my local supermarket few times since Friday and maybe only one or two people not wearing one.

People generally won't wear them it if it's not enforced. How many times do the government have to go through this whole dance of 'advising people' to do this or that, before they realise that people only respect enforced law?

People generally won't go into a supermarket with a mask if most others aren't and the shopkeepers aren't. If a majority are wearing them and it's enforced then it becomes second nature.

Either enforce it and make it mandatory or just accept most won't wear them.