Making masks mandatory outdoors

[zen1]

I’ve seen this is happening in Italy and Germany. I’ve got an awful feeling this might be in the pipeline here (UK) in the not too distant future. What do other people think? I’m not convinced of the efficacy of masks actually doing much to stop the transmission (unless medical grade) and I can’t imagine having to do this.

@mathanxiety and when we go to bed, then what?

It would essentially confine me and my baby to the house. He spends his whole time trying to pull it off my face when being held or in his carrier. If he is in his pram I like him to face me so he can see and hear me talk to him when we are out for a walk. Babies rely on facial expressions, clear sounds and seeing lip movements for speech development. I wear one when I am in indoor public places which isn’t very often but we spend a good part of our day outside.

We have to do this in the french town where I liv. in streets AND parks. Totally ridic imo

I live in Victoria and we have had mandatory mask wearing outdoors for quite a while now. People just get on with it because we want some semblance of normality in the next few years.
You get used to it.I do a pretty quick 10km walk most days and don't even notice the mask anymore. I thought it would be awful but it is fine. Anyone over the age of 12 wears them.

You could just wear a scarf though or a running buff and just pull it up when needed as it is within 2 metres that the article states

We've been doing it in Spain and look at the contagion rates here. I honestly think that when people start wearing masks all the time, it gives people a false sense of security and social distancing and hand sanitising kind of go out the window. That's what happened here. Masks aren't an effective tool, unless used properly. They needs to be changed, as per the guidelines, which practically no one does. I think masks have their place inside, but not outside where you can clearly keep the distance.

I wear mine, but am often walking down an empty street with my face sweating (yeah, you all won't find it much fun in the summer!) and wondering what the point of it is. Don't even get me started on the acne from the masks that so many people, me included, have. I think wearing it on quiet streets, where you're perfectly able to keep the distance, is utterly pointless. As long as people are in bars/restaurants/gyms etc without masks, I really do fail to see how the use of masks outside is going to make any kind of noticeable difference to the spread of the virus.

Much better to make the wearing of masks mandatory in enclosed public spaces, outdoors but only where the distance can't be kept (busy towns and city centres, for example) and keep the emphasis firmly on social distancing when in outside public spaces in all other instances.

I wear masks in shops but I think they're pretty useless by and large.

Just keep your distance from other people when out and about. If you're not social distancing then a cloth alone won't stop you catching it.

I live in Victoria and we have had mandatory mask wearing outdoors for quite a while now. People just get on with it because we want some semblance of normality in the next few years.

What evidence is there that wearing masks outdoors is going to help you achieve this?

5pm in Nov/ Dec/ Jan/ Feb. It's dark. The weather is cold and wet. A man steps out from beside a poorly lit building/ bush. His hood is pulled up. 2/3s of his face is obscured by a surgical style/ plain black mask. You can barely even see his eyes.
Do masks outside make you feel safe now when you can't look at people to judge if they are safe or a potential threat?

Heavenly for those with malicious intent.

There is more to fear in the world than Covid.

As a driver, masked pedestrians seem to have less awareness of their surroundings. Expect more pedestrian/ vehicle incidents on the road. Especially if people are wearing all black, have a black mask and you've now lost the contrast of their skin which was your best chance of spotting them.

I've followed all the rules so far but i'd refuse to wear a mask outdoors if i'm two meters plus away from other people. Completely pointless. Same if they made you wear it at your desk in the office (when I can work comfortably from home without a mask and avoid an asthma attack).

This government have been a disaster, but one thing they have got right, compared to how draconian some countries have been, is allowing people to exercise freely outdoors (within guidelines of social distancing etc or travel restrictions during lockdown). Keeping healthy people locked in their homes is unnecessarily draconian.

What evidence is there that wearing masks outdoors is going to help you achieve this?
Well it isn't doing us any harm so unless there is evidence that it won't help I can't see the problem. We had 12 new cases here yesterday, in the whole state. How many where you are?

@Florrieboo

What evidence is there that wearing masks outdoors is going to help you achieve this? Well it isn't doing us any harm so unless there is evidence that it won't help I can't see the problem. We had 12 new cases here yesterday, in the whole state. How many where you are?

So basically zero evidence that wearing masks outdoors is doing any good whatsoever?

As a poster above said, masks have been mandatory outdoors in Spain for months but Spain is currently suffering one of the worst resurgances in Europe.

No no no

Masks help.
Cases in Victoria , Australia began to decline with compulsory outdoor mask wearing, and were reduced further with a hard lockdown.
Evidence was requested up thread 👇🏼.

health.clevelandclinic.org/new-study-highlights-new-evidence-that-masks-prevent-coronavirus-spread/

www.wsj.com/articles/face-masks-really-do-matter-the-scientific-evidence-is-growing-11595083298

www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-72798-7

I've read the first of those before, and seen the other material summarised elsewhere.

But what I was asking about specifically (can't speak for everyone who expressed scepticism) was whether it makes a significant difference outside. I totally agree mask-wearing is a good idea indoors, but outdoors?

For a start off, you've got a much bigger volume of air into which aerosols can be diluted, and also you have all sorts of turbulence going on which disperses aerosols far faster than in a closed room.

So the question is - do people really need to wear them while walking their dog? Are the public health gains going to be sufficient?

I suppose if it's on my face it's not festering away in my coat pocket with my used hankie, a discarded humbug and that receipt I got in Tesco about 8 weeks ago.

[quote Wakeupalready]Masks help.
Cases in Victoria , Australia began to decline with compulsory outdoor mask wearing, and were reduced further with a hard lockdown.
Evidence was requested up thread 👇🏼.

health.clevelandclinic.org/new-study-highlights-new-evidence-that-masks-prevent-coronavirus-spread/

www.wsj.com/articles/face-masks-really-do-matter-the-scientific-evidence-is-growing-11595083298

www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-72798-7[/quote]
Is there specific evidence regarding the efficacy or otherwise of compulsory mask wearing outdoors? Because that is the issue here, not whether masks in general are beneficial.

Well it isn't doing us any harm so unless there is evidence that it won't help I can't see the problem.

This is absolutely wrong. There should be clear positive evidence that it works before it is made law. The government shouldn’t be imposing rules like that just because they think it’s a good idea.

There should be clear positive evidence that it works before it is made law. The government shouldn’t be imposing rules like that just because they think it’s a good idea.

This is my view too PurpleDaisies

I wouldn't be surprised if it was made mandatory, at least in urban areas. I live in London, so it would affect me. I'd be annoyed, and I'm not convinced it would make much difference to infection rates, but it wouldn't change my behaviour or where I want to go out. I still go out a lot to indoor places and use public transport and wear my mask when it's required. Usually pull it off with relief as soon as I leave somewhere though. My mask is fairly bearable to wear for long periods as it's quite large and gappy at the sides. And not a tight weave fabric anyway. Ticks all the legal boxes though.

I understand the guidelines for numerous countries require outdoor masks where there are crowded spaces outdoors, and where social distancing isn't possible , like down busy streets etc.
Given it's airborne, if there are people around outside and they get close, I'd be wearing a mask.

Trumps Rose Garden event is a case in point 👇🏼

www.abc.net.au/news/2020-10-11/being-outdoors-doesn%E2%80%99t-mean-you%E2%80%99re-safe-from-covid-19/12748858

Also this one, which also discusses asymptomatic people, who show no symptoms ( and may/ have been exposed). Another reason wearing a mask is beneficial

time.com/5880867/face-masks-coronavirus/

Here in Victoria, AUS, it's now compulsory to wear a mask, outside or inside.
I live in a regional town, and even if I go for a walk by myself or with my husband on a quiet path with no one else around, we still have to wear a mask or risk being fined.
I think it's a bit overkill, in shops or enclosed spaces I understand l, but not out in the open.

The more I read on here, the more I can see that you guys are really headed the same way we have been most of the year.

You should see the crowds at bus stops , school pick ups- no sd , masks worn correctly would be a good thing in those situations imo. Let’s face it, there’s no enforcement of those illegal electric scooters or cyclists on pavements - no one is going to be policing mask wearing on country walks so don’t get irate about it .

Well it isn't doing us any harm so unless there is evidence that it won't help I can't see the problem

This is absolutely wrong. There should be clear positive evidence that it works before it is made law. The government shouldn’t be imposing rules like that just because they think it’s a good idea

There isn't time to peer-review this in the middle of pandemic; the government is making reasonable rules. The good idea at first in Victoria was that any face covering was OK, which ensured higher levels of compliance, because it was more achievable. Now it's been revised to masks only: fair enough.

I strongly disagree. We have no idea what wearing cloth next to our faces for extended time does. We should have learnt enough by now from various errors over the years to use caution.

For example in pregnant people, is there mild hypoxia to the fetus? We know masks do change the level of O2 received. We don’t know the systemic effects.

Or could bacteria is cloth masks multiply in the moisture leading to lung infections or fungal overgrowth? Or chemicals used lead to cancers.

Yet we have zero proof that a cloth mask outside will help. It’s not helping in spain.

I wish the bigger picture could be seen before knee jerk reactions are made

I will not be wearing a cloth mask outside