@LangClegsInSpace
They may not be 100% effective but short of locking yourself away what else have we got?
This is the problem isn't it? People honestly believe the only tools we have against this virus are lockdowns and masks!
Since the beginning, WHO have been telling us 'find, test, isolate and treat every case, trace and quarantine every contact'
Seven months in and we're still only paying lip service to this. We've put in some half-arsed systems that have achieved nothing much except for making profit for Boris's mates - and now these systems are falling to bits altogether.
Nobody seems that bothered about this. It's all to do with the fucking masks!
If every single person wore a mask everywhere and anybody who could not wear one was confined to their home, this would still be pissing in the ocean unless we get test, trace and isolate right.
Tumbleweed
I suppose it's because people can see masks and can see some people not wearing them in their day to day lives. Testing, tracing and isolating all seems a bit distant until it happens to you.
Putting a mask on is a small thing people can do that does appear to help a bit if you're somewhere indoors and crowded, in an area of high community transmission. It's a good idea to wear one if you can.
But I suspect for a lot of people who are fervent about mask wearing, it's more to do with control. I'm not being sneery, please hear me out.
None of us can directly affect testing, contact tracing or isolating, or make them work any better (but please write to your MP if you've encountered problems), most of us can wear a face covering. Putting a mask on is a small thing people can do so it helps them feel a little bit more in control, at a time when most of us are feeling extremely stressed from prolonged, unpredictable loss of control over our lives.
So you put your mask on, feel a little bit safer and a little bit more in control of your risk, and then you see other people not wearing one and you can't control that so your tiny bit of control is now gone.
It's no wonder feelings run so high over this.
It was the same during lockdown, same obsession with The Rules, same outrage at those deemed not to be complying, sadly in many cases the same disregard for what the rules actually said.
We're just not mentally equipped for month after month of bored terror.
The thing with masks is that they're not that effective. They can make a bit of difference in certain circumstances but masks alone will not save us.
While you are fretting about that person there not wearing a mask, this person here, who is wearing a mask, has symptoms but couldn't get a test so they haven't been able to get time off work.
And this other person, who is wearing a mask, knows they've been in contact with someone who tested positive a week ago, but contact tracing haven't been in touch yet, so they can't get time off work either.
That other person over there, also wearing a mask, has been told to isolate but can't afford to or is worried they'll lose their job if they do, so they're on your bus too.
They're all wearing masks, each one of them is a far greater risk to you and everyone else than any random person who's not wearing one.