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).

@Ilovesandwiches

I will be honest I haven’t worn a mask in the shops but I definitely don’t have any issue with doing so

I think there are many more like you to be honest. It’s not the same as in some US states where people think covid is a hoax and that masks are an infringement on liberties.

It’s simply that Brits are quite socially awkward and don’t want to do something that is seen as unusual. Of course there are some strong objectors but the majority just need to be reassured that they won’t be viewed as oddballs.

I think it can be any face covering, but I think on the news it said it should have at least 3 layers

@ilikebooksandplants

How long before all of this has to be/is reviewed? I know th initial legislation is in place for two years but does that mean we have to wear face coverings in shops for two years or do the govt have to review it before then? I can’t seem to find anything on this (but I’m feeling under the weather and haven’t looked too hard). Can anyone point me in the direction of some good links?

Also: what’s the point? We can’t nip to Tesco for food without a face mask, but we’re all been given a tenner to go and breathe all over each other in Nando’s. What the fuck does any of it mean?

That's what concerns me - it feels like yet another thing done with no obvious exit plan. Given how low cases currently are, what will be the criteria to remove this? They keep finding that introducing this stuff is easier than you'd think, but lifting it again in an orderly and reasoned way is much harder - and yet they keep not learning the lesson.

Levels of compliance with all measures have - despite what the media and MN would have you think - have actually been surprisingly high, more than modellers anticipated. But now there is no clarity at all over what is expected of people and two things will happen, probably at the same time:

a lot of people will just give up and stop following even the vital common sense stuff (like isolating and getting a test if you have symptoms or avoiding large indoor gatherings).
Other people will refuse to follow the loosening of restrictions and will keep themselves in lockdown, considerably overestimating the current risks. This isn't an epidemiological problem but it is a social and economic one, and it's clearly what's keeping Sunak awake at night.

Making people feel like restrictions are being imposed and lifted at random really is the worst of all worlds.

In lots of countries, including ones who have controlled the virus much better than us, they have been wearing masks for at least a couple of months without all this frothing.

Pointless.
But the Govt is desperate to get people to leave their homes, go back to work, and to spend money.
The majority of people do not have access to the correct masks or know how to wear a mask correctly. Drives me nuts watching people's mask wearing antics.

I honestly worry how people who can't wear them for sensory/PTSD/anxiety/panic reasons will cope. Some of these people - and I include myself in that group - hardly go out as it is for various reasons. They're not likely to want confrontation on being asked to defend why they don't have a face covering. So now they just won't go out at all. This will be a further blow to some peoples' already tenuous mental health.

@IAintentDead

More chin hammocks then.

If I have one round my neck that I can pull up if a policeman is around then I'm fine.

They don't do any good unless worn fully correctly, no one wears them anything like correctly.

It's pathetic. I didn't agree with them but would have worn worn in March, April, May and maybe June. Not now.

If I have to wear one it will be single ply and purely for show. And I still won't wear it most of the time, it will hang round my neck as a 'virtue signal'

Yep 100% I have one cheap one that will be left in the car and used only if I have to go in a physical shop. Everything else back on line and no more browsing and buying on a whim until this is all over.

I'm glad there is some proper clarity now. I don't break social distance and I don't lift my mask up and scratch my face when I am wearing one. I am very aware. I'm sick of hearing everyone MNetters blustering about how pointless wearing them is because no one is "doing it properly!" Many people are wearing them properly so it's just silly to say no one should because of the lack of efficiency in a few others. Just make sure you and those close to you do.

@RedToothBrush

It's such a shame as I've found Scouting to be amazing with my son with building his confidence and new experiences. I really hope other children can continue to have those opportunities.

I am so naive, I just thought he did it as it was something he believed in not because he was paid lots!

The point of introducing face covers now is to keep numbers at the low levels they are currently at. There is mounting scientific evidence that mask wearing drastically reduces the likelihood of transmission.

Many, many other countries have introduced mask-wearing around the world without a fuss. Genuine exemptions aside, it's a very simple thing to do. People will quickly get used to it.

If they reported the daily figures for people who die of road accidents noone would ever leave the house again

"On average, five people die every day on the road in Great Britain."

www.brake.org.uk/facts-resources/1653-uk-road-casualties

Ever heard of getting your facts straight before mouthing off?

😂😂😂😂😂

“France is mulling making face masks compulsory in confined spaces amid concerns of a second wave of coronavirus, as several regions of Spain declared them mandatory in all circumstances.

The change in strategy came as Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that people should wear masks in closed areas such as shops and that the government would say more in the next few days about what "tools of enforcement" would be used.

France’s health minister, Olivier Véran, said he was looking into shifting the state's stance over mask use from “warm recommendation” to compulsory after experts warned that their dwindling use in recent days had led to rising infection levels in several parts of the country.”

www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/science-and-disease/coronavirus-news-cases-deaths-lockdown-masks/

Sorry but for the people who say they wouldn't be going to shops because of masks, are you just going to stay at home and just go to outdoor places for the next 1-2 years? Its not in legislation yet, but I am sure museums, cinemas and other enclosed spaces would also require masks?

What is going to happen in winter when it's too cold to sit out in the parks/gardens? That's why I started going to shops and have been to the pub/restaurant. I wear a mask. This covid is going to be around for a while and I can't stay home for the whole year.

Well this is going to mess with CCTV and face recognition (I’m for masks by the way it just got me thinking)

Good , I hope those genuinely exempt are treated fairly and conversely people don’t jump on the exemption bandwagon just because they have a condition that means some suffers may need to abstain from wearing masks.

It's a small inconvenience to me to possibly not kill off someones lovely old granny, that's a sacrifice I'm more than willing to make, have been making, and will continue to make.

If someone who already has scarred lungs and reduced oxygen levels can manage without keeling over, I don't see why healthy people are making such a fuss about it.

How about if seat belts weren't made mandatory, the number would be higher. The number of fatalities is with preventative measures in place.

What I also don't get is how you are supposed to go out and enjoy yourself and drink your beer or eat your half price lunch whilst wearing a mask*

*yes I know you don't. Thats why it just seems a ridiculous conflict in messaging and apparent science led policy.

Good.

Should of been from the start though

@AlecTrevelyan006.

I agree 100%, it’s a sad sad day. Not least because I soldiered on working in retail throughout the lockdown and kept things going, caught the virus, Recovered, kept on trudging and finally we see light at the end of the tunnel and now this slap in the face. I struggle with mask wearers because I rely heavily on non verbal communication and lip reading so despite the fact covid hasn’t beaten me so far this will likely be the end of my time in retail as I struggle too much working in a customer facing role but not being able to communicate with /understand people

It’s simply that Brits are quite socially awkward and don’t want to do something that is seen as unusual. Of course there are some strong objectors but the majority just need to be reassured that they won’t be viewed as oddballs.

Agree with this. Many people are just worried about looking different, which they won't if the majority's are wearing them.

Unfortunately, I think some of the people who think mask wearing is "pointless" aren't recognising that it's a communal benefit rather than an individual one. Being one person wearing a mask doesn't especially protect you, but the vast majority of people wearing one protects everyone.

I remember when seatbelts were made mandatory, and the same wankers were spouting the same wank about that

I'm not going to wear one, giving up your freedom to big brother etc etc etc.

Thick people are very predictable.

This was already made compulsory in Scotland last Friday, I don't particularly like wearing one but it is fine, pop it on when going in the shop, take it off when you leave if you don't like it - it really isn't a big deal! 🤷‍♀️

I’ll wear one, I don’t like them, but I have started to use them on the bus, because I have to, and I will continue to do so where they are compulsory.

I realise that they are to protect others, not myself.

I was rather baffled that my local supermarket today has removed all social distancing lines and spots from the floor for queues.....seems a bit premature, or they just think everyone’s got the message now.

It won’t be forever. The government are already lifting quarantine rules and the rules on who you can meet and where are changing by the week. When (or if) the rate continues to drop so will the masks.

So I wear a face mask in a shop where I stay away from everyone and sanitise my hands.
But people can go to pubs and not wear face masks and that’s fine. Nonsense.