AIBU for thinking people wearing masks are the ones spreading the virus?

[Georgeoftheinternet]

I was at the supermarket today and no one was following the 2 metre social distancing guidelines. Masks give people a false sense of security and people become lax.

Putting a bit of gel on your hands doesn’t remove all the germs, your mask isn’t PPE (check out HSE website) and neither are gloves.

If this virus was so bad, why aren’t supermarket workers who see hundreds of people a day most at risk of dying.

they haven’t. It’s only in surgery and dentists.

Healthcare staff have worn masks around patients with illnesses that spread via respiratory droplets, like flu or TB, for a very long time.

you getting tested every week? Is that an elderly care home?

Lots of care homes and hospitals are testing staff to try and control any outbreaks. It's hard to control a virus that can cause no or minimal symptoms in some people, mild ones in others, and cause some people to be seriously ill and die. I get tested with a swab for active infection and a blood test for antibodies every two weeks as part of research study to see how long antibodies last for, and if they protect someone from being infected again. The hospital I work at has also recently asked everyone to be tested to check for outbreaks among staff.

The fact that you can be asymptomatic and contagious is another reason to just wear a mask, unless you're very selfish, or stupid, or a mix of both.

Unfortunately there's still no cure for covid, selfishness or stupidity, so looks like the UK is a bit fucked for the foreseeable future.

Supermarkets are usually large airy spaces as well.

www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/bulletins/deathsduetocoronaviruscovid19comparedwithdeathsfrominfluenzaandpneumoniaenglandandwales/deathsoccurringbetween1januaryand31august2020#death-occurrences-due-to-covid-19-influenza-and-pneumonia

The whole point of these masks is to prevent YOU from passing on the virus to others.

It's not PPE for YOU, it's to protect other people.

Act as if YOU have the virus.

Wash or sanitise your hands after touching the mask or anything else.

Stay away from people as much as you can

Speak as little as possible.

Touch the minimum amount of stuff

Don't eat on the run

Wash your masks regularly - wear a clean one every day

FGS! This is simple infection control, not rocket science.

@Georgeoftheinternet

What app are people supposed to check in with whilst they are shopping?

Anecdotally, those I have seen ignoring distancing are those in masks. I think this mght be more about..those who can't/don't wear masks are more aware of keeping distance as its always in their mind, where people in masks feel 'safer' or something.

@UserX

Antivaxxers & antimaskers are now one & the same.

True dat.

@DumplingAndStew, the NHS T&T app has a facility where you Check In by scanning a displayed QR code.

OK just read some more posts on here, while it has been my experience that those in masks are more lax about distancing, I do not agree with the 'its nothing to worry about' tone of a lot of the replies. Thought it was worth pointing that ot. Me saying maskers seem to care less about other measures is NOT me saying masks do not work or that this virus is nothing.

If you can't socially distance, then properly worn masks, minimal interaction and good hand hygiene will do.

@Dustysilkflowers

YANBU

I’ve said this the entire time. Masks Do not offer full protection - it like holding up an umbrella in rain with holes in it. The government know this and it’s the reason why they took so long to implement mask wearing in the first place.

The virus is here. We have to live with it. People are really struggling because there is no quick fix to it.

But hey - betty down the road is making masks out of t- shits and selling them on facebook! Yey!!

Using the umbrella thing though..yeah lets assume masks are like an umbrella with holes in it. Actualy a fairly reasonable analogy. We have 2 other umbrellas with holes in too. Keeping hands clean, and distancing.

One of the measures will not be as sucessful as doing 2. But the best protection from the rain would be using all 3 holey umbrellas together, as the chances of rain getting through all 3 would be a lot less than if using one, or none.

@UserX

Antivaxxers & antimaskers are now one & the same.

AKA Dumb and Dumber

OP asked a very legit question -- if people are forced to wear masks then maybe they will take fewer other precautions, which matters if other precautions might be more effective.

This is a known behaviour adjustment that happens when people are forced into safety measures they don't fully believe in. It's called risk compensation. But it's usually thought to be a minority of people who respond like that. Most people are just as lazy or just as careful as they were ever going to be regardless of official rules, because people are creatures of habit first and foremost.

Ultimately vast majority of covid passes between people who hang around each other, socialising or having other types of contact, for long periods (at last 15 minutes) without masks on. All this angst about 20 seconds within 1m of another person in the supermarket or stranger spotted with no mask in the News Agent is very misplaced.

[quote Gingernaut]@DumplingAndStew, the NHS T&T app has a facility where you Check In by scanning a displayed QR code.[/quote]
In shops?

I have seen the NHS T&T in a few places, but never in shops. I suspect the reason for that is you need to have prolonged contact to catch it (bar a fluke, like someone coughing in your face maybe) so shops are low risk really. I have only seen it in the likes of pubs, restaurants, casinos, that sort of thing.

I think the boat has sailed with T&T though. A collosal amount of money spent on it and it is a shambles.

[quote Ghosts2020]@georgeoftheinternet your posts are entirely ignorant, misinformed and miseducated. Yes I work in science and yes I have a serious lung disability, I suffered pneumonia within the last year and have suffered it multiple times in my young life, it is serious and can kill. Yes a mask can reduce risk of transmission a mask does not wholey protect yourself however. But if you are perfectly healthy and don't wear one, please understand the vulnerable peoe you are putting at risk. It is selfish and unnecessary. Your figures are incorrect and it is people like yourself letting this country down. Do you not understand that if you just complied with mask wearing lockdowns would be over alot quicker. I honestly think people like yourself should be charged with manslaughter for being so selfish and negligent.[/quote]
Misinformed. Miseducated. Lack knowledge (ignorant).

Youve been getting pneumonia multiple time’s how?

Rarely do I see anyone not wearing a mask. Didn’t the who tell us all not to wear masks lol.

@Ghosts2020 do you stay at home? If you don’t it’s suicide.

WHO recommend masks and give instructions on how to put them on, take them off and wear them.

This seems fitting

It's not mask wearing that spreads the virus, it's people. If they wear masks, they're less likely to spread the virus

And maybe you could have a proper think before you continue spreading misinformation?

Yabu and pretty thick.

[quote Georgeoftheinternet]@Tadpolesandfroglets they haven’t. It’s only in surgery and dentists.[/quote]
You've been in all hospitals watching all procedures have you? You say it with such confidence. When I gave birth (it was not a c section) were wearing masks.

And why do you think surgeons and dentists where them? For fun? Or because they reduce the risk of viruses and bacterial being transmitted?

Youve been getting pneumonia multiple time’s how?

Are you seriously this misinformed? Pneumonia is rarely contagious, and very often a secondary infection.

I agree that for some people wearing masks has maybe made them have a false sense of security and social distance less, be more risky etc but I still think those that wear masks are still trying to protect people more than those that don’t wear them properly.

Similar to HIV - wearing a condom can reduce your risk of getting it but it needs to be worn in a correct manner and it won’t eradicate it but those who choose to wear them are able to protect themselves and others better than if they hadn’t worn one.

I know a lot of people who have suffered mental health issues like anxiety and depression due to Covid so seeing people wear a mask or wipe down counters reassures them a bit more that people are taking it seriously and I will happily sanitise my hands before entering the shops just to make the other customers or workers who suffer these things feel that I care about their health.

@AntiHop as I said, surgery.

@DameFanny missing the point. People wearing masks feel safe and don’t socially distance.