Masks. To wear or not to wear

[ripples101]

There are two premises:

1. Wearing a mask DOES help to reduce the spread of covid-19

2. Wearing a mask DOES NOT help to reduce the spread of covid-19

Obviously, only one of the statements above can be true.

First question: Which of the above statements do you agree with?

Next...

If you DO wear a mask, I think it's reasonable to assume that (for you), one or both of the following statements are true:

3. You do believe that wearing a mask does helps limit the spread

4. You do not have a physical or psychological reason that prevents
   you from doing so.

But if you DON'T wear a mask, then the reasons why could be any one (or any combination) of the following:

5. You have a physical or psychological reason that prevents you from doing so (but you still believe that wearing a mask does help reduce the spread)

6. You do have a physical or psychological reason that prevents you from doing so (but you don't believe that wearing a mask helps reduce the spread)

7. There is no point in wearing a mask because you believe that wearing a mask does not help to reduce the spread of Covid-19

8. You don't believe that you are at risk if you catch Covid-19

9. You won't be told what to do

10. You don't believe Covid-19 even exists

(11, 12, 13, etc. etc.) Insert any reason of your own here....

So the question to anyone/everyone.

Which number are you?

(You can choose more than one number!!!)

@HazeyJanell

Do you have children? If so, have you generally explained to them why we need to (e.g.) take turns, share, be kind, etc, etc, etc - or have you just said "you're doing it because I say so"?

Sometimes parents do have to pull out the "because I say so" card - but if it's used every time, it's never going to create thoughtful and responsible citizens.

My vague scarf is also a sop to those who would be anxious/worried if I weren't covering my face. I don't think it's necessary, but I'm not quite enough of a dick to refuse to do it, because I know other people would be bothered by it.

Doesn't mean I can't question it, though.

I wear a mask because it is the law to do so.
I wear a mask because it reduces the transmission of the virus.
I wear a washable mask because it means know it's clean (I wash it every wear) and it means I don't litter the world with another piece of rubbish.

Sad to admit I'm one who does it because I'm told to - I want to be served in shops and other places that insist on them.

I hate masks and will never wear one outside in fresh air, no matter what.

I don't think they're particularly effective - certainly the so-called second wave isn't a ringing endorsement of their efficacy!

@ancientgran

Celan if you sneeze on someone vulnerable you might kill them. The point is you are unquestioningly following rules, some speed limits are very arbitrary, I can think of roads near me that are 60 mph and dangerous and others where a 40 mph changes to 30 mph for no apparent reason. I still go down to 30 mph though. Would you do an assessment and decide if you are going to follow that rule?

No, because I'd be a complete prat if I did that (I also would have to stop to make that judgement, which would be a waste of time). Plus obeying a speed limit isn't actually curtailing my freedom. It's not harming me, it's not making me uncomfortable - and, as I say, if I were to hit someone, it has been demonstrated beyond any doubt that I would be less likely to kill them at a lower speed. The judgements about speeding are based on the 'best information' - so while you might be very, very unlucky and either kill someone who's walking in the pitch dark along a country lane with a 60mph limit, or be the person who is walking and who is killed, neither of those things is statistically very likely.

However, there are no meaningful statistics available about mask-wearing and virus transmission.

I still think the government came up with the mask decree only because they realised that their initial lockdown was so much more successful than they thought it would be that they had to find a way to convince people to come out of their houses again.

There are plenty of meaningful statistics showing that masks work - so anyone starting a thread like this or making daft statements like celan are deliberately spreading misinformation. Lets start with an American one showing virus transmission 50% lower when masks were mandated. www2.ljworld.com/news/ku/2020/oct/23/covid-19-spreading-half-as-quickly-in-counties-with-mask-mandates-ku-research-shows/

I love how so many seem to think they're better qualified than the medical and scientific experts at the World Health Organisation.

@Notanotheruser111
Well done to Victoria. You showed the world what to do with an outbreak. No whining we can't we can't we can't.
Rolled up your sleeves and got on with containing it. Hope things continue to get better and you all get to enjoy a mostly normal Christmas, like my my family in South Australia will be doing.

Reposting.
www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/question-and-answers-hub/q-a-detail/q-a-on-covid-19-and-masks

It's not fomites. EL PAÍS
english.elpais.com/society/2020-10-28/a-room-a-bar-and-a-class-how-the-coronavirus-is-spread-through-the-air.html
People should wear masks indoors and ventilate those indoor spaces.

I wear a face covering because I can't be bothered with a fight. I wore it today in a cinema. When I had my coffee , I didnt wear it. Pathetic.

I think it's just bloody common sense to wear masks. I hate wearing them - I feel really uncomfortable in one - but I am not a self git and so I just get on and wear it and don't moan about it.

*selfish

Mask works. If not, why do all the medical staffs wear it in hospital??? It definitely works!!!

@celan

I don't believe it makes any difference to the spread.

I make a vague attempt to put a scarf somewhere near my face when in shops, but only because I can't be bothered with being told off (which is embarrassing for me, but also for the assistant who is presumably just doing his/her job and enforcing company policy).

It's also only a very vague attempt.

The other reasons for not wearing one properly are:

There is no evidence to show they work.

They are disgusting, germ-riddled items. People wear them on their chins, heads, wrists - and re-use them all the time. If you wanted to put a little petri dish of germs around your nose and mouth, a mask is ideal.

They are yet another diktat from a totalitarian government, and I refuse to be part of it.

I can't see in them because my glasses steam up so much when I wear them that it's barely worth leaving the house.

They work, if you read genuine research in this rather than the Qanon-adjacent bullshit spread liberally over Facebook

They're clean if you put on a clean one each time, and wash it after

There's plenty of masks that don't steam your glasses - nose wires, 3d shaped, reverse nose pleat - all let you see what your doing

So by making a "vague attempt to put a scarf near your face" it's yourself you're inconveniencing, as you risk others"health, all so you can make a stand worthy of the Young Ones Rik.

Sorry Celan, I realise I touched a nerve pointing out you follow rules just like the rest of us.

It would be interesting to know what the mask deniers feel when someone barefaced coughs over their food, or a barefaced surgeon coughs into open wounds. If they don't like it, why ever not, since they believe masks make no difference?

@5thriver

Mask works. If not, why do all the medical staffs wear it in hospital??? It definitely works!!!

They don’t wear a cheap bit of material though, I used to wear a mask at work but they were ones that had to be fit tested. Which tested various masks and some were not much use at all, maybe only masks that pass a certain standard should be used or on sale as rubbish ones could give a false sense of security

Any mask helps a bit - the evidence is there for that, too if you look for it. Two layers or cotton are pretty good -I've seen the research but not bookmarked it. And I doubt if all americans were wearing surgical standard masks but there was still a 50% difference in virus transmission.

english.elpais.com/society/2020-10-28/a-room-a-bar-and-a-class-how-the-coronavirus-is-spread-through-the-air.html

See this link/infographic for how it spreads indoors, in various situations, with and without masks.

Ahh I see orangeblossoms posted the same link.

Just want to leave this here

I wear them because I have to. I was wearing a 3 layer one but I had to stop as my nose would run like a tap, it’s really hard not to touch it. So I’ve gone single layer. It’s probably not very effective.

@ancientgran

Sorry Celan, I realise I touched a nerve pointing out you follow rules just like the rest of us.

I follow rules which have been proven beyond all doubt to be sensible. I'm not going to follow rules where it's only 50:50.

Not sure how you think you touched a nerve. You asked a question and I explained my position at rather boring length in order to answer you politely.

@DameFanny Of course they're clean if they're washed regularly/thrown away. However, most people are neither washing them regularly not throwing single-use ones away after one use.

Who can afford to chuck away a reusable mask after one wearing, anyway?

I see people all the time pick their masks up from the pavement and put them on; they have them dangling round their wrists as they're walking along; they're on their chins or hanging off one ear. That's what I see, not the imaginary universe in which everyone complies with the 'don't touch your mask/throw it away/wash it daily' rules.

Most masks are pretty vile.

@alreadytaken

Just want to leave this here

Frankly, if someone will pay me enough, I'll do it. I have had no income since the first lockdown, and if all I have to look forward to is house repossession and another lockdown, I'll gladly take my chances with Covid in return for some pay.

Most masks are pretty vile. Have you done some sort of analysis of masks? The ones I see all look fine so unless you have done some microscopic examination I don't see how you can say that. I mean you haven't proven it beyond all doubt have you.