Still in shock

[KayEngel]

Is it just me? I still can't quite believe what has happened and is still going to happen for the foreseeable. I've stopped going out, not because I'm worried about getting Covid, but because the whole face mask, social distancing, queuing, booking ahead, craziness is just too upsetting.

"I am mixing regularly with my family, looking after my grand-children and so not social distancing with them. I am also seeing lots of friends. We can meet outside in the garden or at a country pub and there is no need to wear a mask."

I live in Wales. My family lives 4 hours away on public transport, which is discouraged.
I can only see one friend at a time even though the pubs are now open.
I cannot go inside a pub, only outside and it's cold and raining so no, I can't see people like in the old day.
Count yourself lucky.

" but for everyone else I don't understand the issue."

Can't breathe properly.
Can't speak properly.
Can't see much at all as the glasses fog up.
The glasses issue is the worst. I've looked up hacks for it, but been told by an expert that none of them work and masks and glasses just don't mix well. I was told by someone on FB to just wipe my glasses all the time, but I don't want to be touching them constantly with potentially contaminated hands.
So, yes, while I believe masks are part of the solution, there ARE issued with them.

I feel so much worse now lockdown is over.
It’s not the virus that’s ever panicked me. It’s the tape, one way systems, signs and now the face masks. I rely so much on facial
Expressions. Smiling at people is SO important. I understand that it’s my problem so I will just not be going into shops for as long as masks are mandatory. Thank god for amazon is all I can say - which is not something that sits well with me either!

"Part of me does still wonder each day whether the world has been hoaxed"

You don't know anybody who's had it then?

How was the friend supposed to know the woman had an exemption. She might not have done anyway and just didn't want to wear it, in which case she should be called up on it.

Er, no, @Gwenhwyfar definitely not. She should be left alone to her train journey in peace. Do not go around ‘calling up’ people, that’s not your job, you are not entitled to a strangers medical history, and don’t be surprised if you get a (deserved) FO.

We shouldn’t allow ourselves to be policed by the general public taking it upon themselves to do so. It is just another creepy angle of this whole thing.

I mourn the free will we had thst was so easily given up and I fear we will not get back. Not for myself, but for children and young adults who are forced into this fearful way of living where every other person is seen as a threat that might kill you.
This who say that wearing a mask is not that uncomfortable etc are totally missing the point -the point is not the physical wearing ogle an item -I wear clothes for public decency - but that we have all been forced to succumb to the irrational fears of others about human contact.

@PersonaNonGarter

How was the friend supposed to know the woman had an exemption. She might not have done anyway and just didn't want to wear it, in which case she should be called up on it.

Er, no, @Gwenhwyfar definitely not. She should be left alone to her train journey in peace. Do not go around ‘calling up’ people, that’s not your job, you are not entitled to a strangers medical history, and don’t be surprised if you get a (deserved) FO.

We shouldn’t allow ourselves to be policed by the general public taking it upon themselves to do so. It is just another creepy angle of this whole thing.

If somebody's breaking the law they should be called up on it.

I don't do it because I know litterers are likely to be the type to shout and swear as well, but I don't think we should really be walking past people littering in plain sight either.

We all have a responsibility.

How was the friend supposed to know the woman had an exemption. She might not have done anyway and just didn't want to wear it, in which case she should be called up on it.

No, she shouldn’t be called up on it. It’s not the general public’s job to police the behaviour of random strangers.

" you are not entitled to a strangers medical history,"

You don't have to ask for their medical history, but you could remind them that masks are compulsory on public transport and they could reply that they have an exemption.
Otherwise, what's the point in having the rule at all? And why should some of us be uncomfortable if others can choose not to wear them for any reason?

" It’s not the general public’s job to police the behaviour of random strangers."

So you think that for any crime or misdemeanour? Just ignore it?
Littering, letting dogs foul the pavement, smoking where it's banned. We can't say anything to anybody ever?

Please don't say 'only 11 people died'.

but that we have all been forced to succumb to the irrational fears of others about human contact.

Recognising that we are in the midst of a pandemic, and that each of us could be part of that a virus transmission chain that would kill 100,000s in the UK if left unchecked (even if we don’t have a personal fear of contracting it) isn’t irrational fear.

Unless we are elderly and/or vulnerable, the steps we take as a society to control Covid shouldn’t be primarily to do with a personal assessment of our individual health risks - which are very low for most of us - yet that’s what keeps on being mentioned or implied as in “I don’t see it as a risk to me as I’m young and fit, so I should be able to do what I like.”

Well you’ve already said you wouldn’t speak to people for littering in case you’d get sworn or shouted at. I feel the same. I’m not going to put myself at risk of abuse for those things. Also there can be a legitimate reason not to wear a mask. I’m glad the PP’s friend got put in her place. Nicola Sturgeon and Jason Leitch in the Scottish briefing the other day said it wasn’t for individuals to challenge non mask wearing.

My son is exempt but I’ll be fucked if I’m explaining his private situation to random punters in shops. Any random member of the public who challenges me on it will be told to fuck off.

I have not been forced to succumb to irrational fears . It's a short term measure to protect the general public.

Like seat belts
Like drink driving law
Like smoking in a building

These things were all legal once

They protect people so I'm happy to do it. I'm not terrified of social contact ffs.

Please don't say 'only 11 people died'.

Agreed....but even following that logic, “only” 10 deaths were reported on 14 March. The number was 100 times that only a few weeks later.

You don't have to ask for their medical history, but you could remind them that masks are compulsory on public transport and they could reply that they have an exemption.

They could but equally they could tell you to fuck off. People don’t have to explain themselves to you. How about you assume someone must have an exemption instead of thinking the worst and that they just can’t be arsed and keep your trap shut? You sound like a right busybody. I bet you were the type to call the police when your neighbour went to the shop for wine and chocolate during lockdown.

I have a relative in her twenties who has been sick with COVID since March, on and off. Her life seems to be over: all her hopes of a career and children.

I don’t want it! But life seems to be over either way: working from home, getting so little done because I’m listless and distracted all the time.

We had a meeting at work yesterday where we were planning for this to be normal for years to come. It really hit home. I feel like the whole country is depressed.

You don't have to ask for their medical history, but you could remind them that masks are compulsory on public transport and they could reply that they have an exemption

No not a good idea. Apart from it’s not your place you don’t know what their reaction might be.

I wear clothes for public decency

You do it as you’ve been culturally conditioned to.... various cultures don’t cover up, though admittedly most do. Are African tribes “indecent” because they have no issue with showing their breasts in public?

Arguably it’s a lot more indecent to not play your part in controlling a global pandemic that is killing many thousands than it is to cover certain parts of your body that have no real bearing on anyone’s health or wellbeing.

You'll get used to it. I'm in the US and we've been wearing masks and gloves since March. It's mandatory in my state. I'm actually enjoying having a break from the world, no driving, no socializing and no pressure to do anything. I don't think life will ever return y to o the way we knew it.

But life seems to be over either way: working from home, getting so little done because I’m listless and distracted all the time.

I think the whole mask wearing requirement is about getting things more back to normal,
not less. Yes, it will jar for a week or two as we get used to it... like they have pretty much everywhere else, but the reduction in infections that are likely to result from this becoming more of a cultural norm will help keep infections lower, reduce local lockdowns, help schools stay open in the autumn, and allow more of us to return to work in towns and cities.

It doesn't bother me wearing a mask on public transport, at hairdressers etc, where people are in close contact. I had a lovely time at the weekend browsing in the shops and was starting to come to terms with the new normal. The news about wearing masks in shops has broken me this morning. We are taking the joy out of life. I've lost my job because of this, am struggling to find a new one and just can't see the point in anything. I've been in tears this morning. I know it's not a big issue really but it feels like it is.

Stellakent same here. Can't see an end to it. I've not lost my job but realistically can't see it lasting until I retire and it should have. Son (22) has been job hunting for a year after getting a 1st in Maths from top London uni but he was in tears yesterday too as there is nothing. Mask wearing and social distancing will be in place for evermore. There is no joy left in life.

My husband has never had to wear a mask and this morning I broke the news to him that it is now mandatory and he was not impressed.

He is a teacher and said, “So if I go to the supermarket where it’s a large ventilated venue where I don’t have to be in close contact with people I have to wear a mask, but when I go back to work in September I have to be in small, non-ventilated classrooms with up to 180 different pupils a day without a mask and that’s ok?!”

Can’t really argue with that can you?

I do think that now the government has enforced mask wearing it’s going to open up a can of worms regarding teachers demanding answers as to why masks aren’t to be worn in the schools when they are mandatory in other public places. I will look forward to how the Government will respond to those type of questions....

Can't breathe properly.
Can't speak properly.
Can't see much at all as the glasses fog up.
Yes, the glasses are a pain in the arse. But well, when you wear glasses, they fog up. It's always been a pain in the arse!

I see they are now going to bring masks in properly in the UK now.
Do remember that this is not about walking around in the street wearing masks. It's about spending half an hour shopping, if you can't get an online slot. So going to the shop, putting the mask on, being mildly bothered for half an hour, then going outside and taking it off again. And honestly, you get used to it. If you really can't stand it and don't mind looking a bit of a dick, you can do what some people do here and act as if you think that the mask just has to go over your mouth, leaving your nose free. Or you can wear the mask so loosely that it's about an inch away from your face. Defeats the tiny point that the masks do have, obviously, but if you don't believe in that anyway then ...

There was even a thing in the paper here about how people learn to adjust their body language when wearing masks. It tallies with what I've noticed, too. At first, you smile and then kick yourself. But then you learn to crinkle your eyes more, wiggle your eyebrows, or say something, or chuckle, or wave. I see other people doing it too.