Face coverings to be made compulsory in England

[Redolent]

Sky News just reporting that from Friday 24 July it will be mandatory to wear a face mask in shops/stores in England. Fines of £100 if you don’t (reduces to £50 if payable within 2 weeks).

Our local big Tesco has just got rid of virtually all of their social distance signage, because they were getting too many complaints from customers who had ignored it, and then got bolshy with staff who had reminded them about the one way system! So yes, I'm glad all those idiots are going to be made to mask up. back to Waitrose I go

Which shifts responsibility if it all goes tits up
yes and it's very transparent we can all see through him so why is he persisting with a strategy that makes him look bad?
He may resemble trump in the sense of being narcissistic and corrupt but surely he can't be as stupid as Trump?

Of course I do have some sympathy for poor old joris bonson, this is not what he signed up for he thought he had the whole country behind him he had everything sewn up.... and now this.
but he wants what he wants and if he has to play fast and loose to get it then so be it...
the favours that he promised to influential people, the contracts for his mates, the jobs for the boys, he's going to make sure his snout is in the trough sucking up the good stuff for as long as possible 🐷

My point is how long can we go in for with social distancing in business. It can’t be realistic to expect bus services to run with 25% passenger capacity on board and restaurants running at nothing more than 50%. Companies will put up for so long but not forever.
Not many people will open a restaurant in this current climate ( I know a bar that has).
I don’t think we can hold our breath for a vaccine.
And yesterday I heard on the radio a scientist say that just because someone gets Coronavirus once, it don’t mean that they can’t get it again. The anti bodies in a body will only work for a few months.
So now it looks like it’s a permanent disease unless cured.
We’re fucked until a vaccine is invented in that case.

If we have to have long-term distancing and mitigation then we will have two choices:
1-be overwhelmed with the virus
or
2-find new ways of doing things
Clearly public transport and businesses like pubs restaurants etc are incompatible with the mitigation which is required, we will have to find new ways of doing things, unless we prefer the other option

Standardy sorry what I was trying to say(and obviously failing miserably at)was that it will make it near on impossible for me to go out with my DC and my Grandson because of the hearing loss because I won't be able to lipread what anyone is trying to say to me.

I know I could take a notebook and pen but when you have several people trying to have a conversation with you(my DH,our 5DC and our DGrandson)it will be a nightmare.

I'm also really really worried about how our DD12 will react,she is disabled and she is autistic and the change to everyone all of a sudden having to wear face masks is going to make her anxiety go through the roof and were all ready having enough of an ongoing challenge to even get her to go for a walk.

@sleepingpup

*What's quite funny on this thread is the number of people bemoaning the idea of 'British exceptionalism' while also saying that we're the only people in the world not to follow every covid guideline, that we're uniquely terrible and selfish... Do you not see the irony as you type?! And I assume that you haven't actually read any international news if you think that Brits are unique in not following rules. A lot of countries believe, with slight pride, that they're uniquely strong-willed/non-conformist - I got a lengthy diatribe from an Italian recently on why Italians simply cannot be controlled - we're not as special as you think we are! * Don't be so pompous.

No ones doing a doctorate in international sociology.

I was referring to individuals ( on here ) bemoaning wearing a small face mask in the face of exceptional death rates.

No one's expecting you to do a sociology PhD, just don't make yourself look really ignorant by just making international comparisons up?

No not really.

Just because I said "British Exceptionalism" do I really have to add a caveat for every other nation that has its own version.

Err I don't think so.

😁

I must admit I’ve been sneaking a few people into our toilets

Toilets are closed for customers and it’s policy not law to keep them just for staff use now. But some customers I’ve had to turn a blind eye to for the sake of MY mental health! Can’t really do this for masks tho

www.politicshome.com/news/article/ministers-yet-again-in-the-slow-lane-over-mandatory-wearing-of-face-masks-labour-claims
Shopkeepers can refuse entry and call the police if people don’t wear facemasks, Matt Hancock says

Meanwhile, John Apter, national chair of the Police Federation of England and Wales, has said the move to mandate face mask use will "add pressure to police officers who are already being stretched to the limit".

“The vast majority of the public have complied with the lockdown rules so far and I would hope that will continue and the public will do the right thing and wear face coverings in stores to help protect fellow citizens," he added.

The policing boss said office should only be called to enforce measures as a "very last resort and involve only those few individuals who blatantly ignore guidelines and are a clear health risk to others".

Mr Apter added: “Only as this last resort should the police get involved. To expect my colleagues to be policing the supermarket aisles, looking for those shoppers not wearing a face covering, is unrealistic and unfair.

“We simply don’t have the resources, and this would fundamentally undermine the model of policing, which is to police by consent."

@Nobodyputsdaisyinthecorner

This might be a rubbish idea so please be kind of it is... I just want to make a suggestion without being lambasted...

But what about some kind of badge for those who can’t wear masks. Much like the ones pregnant women can wear on public transport in many cities. It quickly communicates the situation without repeated awkwardness and frustration. Perhaps?

I am very reluctantly going to be wearing a sunflower lanyard with an exemption card. I say reluctantly, because I really don't want everyone to know I have a hidden disability. The very idea of needing to wear a visible marker of my difference is adding to my anxiety at being out and about.

I will also try and keep a face covering on for as long as possible.

@sleepingpup

The thing is, many people in this country and US don't like being told what to do and it's something that's alien to our culture. Many people think people wear them to protect themselves, but it's actually about protecting others from your droplets. I'm south east Asia, Japan, they have less of a problem with doing this. Reports I've heard from places like Tailand, are, as soon as they heard there was a pandemic going around, they masked up, switched off the air con and opened all the windows. They didn't have to be told, they just all knew what to do. Because they've had experience before, with other outbreaks such as SARS and MERS.

Fancy being so sensible and just getting on with it..

Not here.

Yes - why can't we all be more like the communists?

It's true (I speak from experience) that there doesn't appear to be much civil disobedience - nor open political discussion - in these countries. Of course, that could have something to do with the fact that it is severely punished...

Funny that most of the countries cited as beacons of civil obedience - Germany, China, Italy, Vietnam, etc. - either have or have had totalitarian regimes in their fairly recent past... Since when was mindless obedience to authority something to be admired?

Exactly- look at Nazi Germany’s obedience to fascism in the 1930s. The nation adapted a regime which ultimately lead to ww2.
Having an obedient society is always a good thing. Otherwise where is free speech?

Funny that most of the countries cited as beacons of civil obedience - Germany, China, Italy, Vietnam, etc. - either have or have had totalitarian regimes in their fairly recent past... Since when was mindless obedience to authority something to be admired?

@McSilkson Well there's a jump!
I'm for "face masks as a barrier control" not totalitarian regimes. 😂

Currently 50 countries have mandatory face mask wearing with citizens "mindlessly obeying authority " but possibly you might approve of one or two of them.

I think your prejudices are showing badly. I hope other posters from abroad who are on these threads, pretty much saying how they all wear masks as a matter of routine , don't get to read your horrible comment.

@McSilkson Did you forget Scotland?

It's well overdue. They should have done it ages ago. It's only on public transport shops and hospitals, hardly a massive inconvenience. If this is all we're asked to do then in the grand scheme of history we've got off lightly.

Exactly- look at Nazi Germany’s obedience to fascism in the 1930s. The nation adapted a regime which ultimately lead to ww2.
Having an obedient society is always a good thing. Otherwise where is free speech?

wtf.

@Hearwego

Exactly- look at Nazi Germany’s obedience to fascism in the 1930s. The nation adapted a regime which ultimately lead to ww2. Having an obedient society is always a good thing. Otherwise where is free speech?

I call Godwin's Law

@WilliamTheToad

just looked that one up and totally agree. 😁

I think your prejudices are showing badly. I hope other posters from abroad who are on these threads, pretty much saying how they all wear masks as a matter of routine

Im half Italian. Please dont presume you can speak for me OR my DM (who is 84 and unable to wear a mask) or the rest of that side of my family.

@RedToothBrush

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8519177/Police-hand-spot-fines-not-wearing-face-covering-shops-July-24.html

The law will require people to wear simple cloth face coverings, rather than the medical grade masks used by front-line NHS workers. Only young children or those with certain disabilities will be exempt from the new regulations.

Ken Marsh, Chairman of the Metropolitan Police Federation - which represents rank-and-file officers - told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'Shopkeepers need to step up to the plate and take some responsibility.

'They can quite easily put signs up on their doors 'No mask on, no entry, this is private property

'That's the first point we need to get across because this cannot all be laid on the shoulders of the police yet again.

'The second point is it will be nigh-on impossible for enforcement because you won't have a police officer on every shop door because there isn't enough of us.

They can quite easily put signs up on their doors 'No mask on, no entry, this is private property

THIS comment came from the chairman of the Met Police Federation. So tell me again how disabled people definately wont be discriminated against.

Just seen this on another thread

I may have missed it but has there been a demand for children to carry their birth certificates when they are in shops? Exemption applies to children under 11 - some children look young for their age, some look older. Presumably those who favour a rigorous burden of proof being placed on those with medical exemption feel just as strongly about age exemption and would want to apply the same conditions. If not, I wonder why

In Germany, there is an exemption form for your doctor to fill in and sign off
I don't know if there is a card or lanyard yet

We've had face coverings / masks since mid-April
No real drama, but maybe that's because they were brought in when deaths were still high
and now people are used to them

100% compliance in my area at least - shops, public transport etc
Noone seems bothered by it

Masks are for age 6+
However, noone is checking small kids' ages, as they are such low risk

Boris does seem to have made a cock of it though, with masks,
like most things so far