Masks are here to stay aren’t they?

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JVT seemed to make that very clear tonight.

I’m gutted if this is true. I only have hearing in 1 ear and rely on lip reading more than I realised. I find masks awful and avoid going anywhere where I have to wear one .

All the people saying that of course they'll wear masks whenever they have a cold - have you actually done it? I had a cold a few weeks ago and during a quick pop into the supermarket discovered how much more unpleasant it is to wear a mask if you have a streaming nose and a sore throat. Also I was only there for 10 minutes but I couldn't have done much longer without taking it down to blow my nose anyway... I'm just not sure the vast majority of people would be that uncomfortable unless they had to be.

Yes but great for covering up the moustache until the next waxing.

@tootyfruitypickle how can you love such a self serving prick as Johnson? I hope you make better choices of people in you actual life.

One advantage of the mask is I can ignore people I don't want to speak to by casting doubt on whether it's actually me.

If this pandemic has shown one thing, it's that a huge proportion of our fellow citizens are totally and utterly selfish and care about nobody but themselves

But why is being altruistic and ‘a good citizen’ suddenly only about pandering to the germ-phobic? You could easily flip the argument and say that wearing a mask is selfish because it excludes people who lip read or have anxiety disorders or learning difficulties. I hardly think it’s selfish to want to see people’s facial expressions or interact fully with other humans - something which was entirely normal and would hardly be questioned prior to 2020.

All these people not knowing who JVT is - don't you read/listen to/watch the news?

Baffling ignorance!

Of wearing a mask prevents people whom the vaccine doesn't work for not get covid and the potential effects I am happy to keep wearing in public places.

I wonder if all the perspex screens will stay up at supermarkets etc

My husband has said he thinks he will keep wearing them in the winter or with a cold. I won’t be. I’ve had endless painful impetigo cold sores since they started, maybe it’s selfish but I’m not selfless enough to worry about giving the cold to others to keep putting myself through it.

Nah. He can fuck right off

@TempsPerdu

For those saying they won't wear masks ever again once they are not mandatory, will you be happy breathing your germs over everyone when you have a cold etc

Yes couldn’t care less tbh. The general hideousness of masks and their knock-on effects on communication and social cohesion far outweigh the potential of passing on a mild illness in my book.

It may be a mild illness in your book, but a cold can be fatal for some. My father had a serious heart attack because a cold took such a toll on his breathing that his heart couldn't carry the strain. The last cold he caught killed him. Your "mild illness" can be someone else's death warrant, but far better to contribute to someone's death than wear a mask for a few days, eh?

What did JVT actually say, I missed the press conference watched Netflix instead

Interesting that in some cultures it is seen as polite to wear one if you are ill

@RaspberryCoulis you are spot on, this is absolutely going to become a prize virtue signalling opportunity. The thread about browsing in a shop was bad enough, but this is next level 😐

They're fairly normal in Asia and no one minds 🙄

Keeps my nose warm on the walk to work which is nice

@TibetanTerrier I’m sorry, but asking entire populations of people to do something that most find unpleasant and socially alienating for the sake of an illness that is mild in the vast, vast majority of cases is utterly ridiculous. Where does it end? Life is inherently risky and pretty much everything can be potentially lethal to someone. Do we ban avocados because a tiny proportion of the population have a severe avocado allergy?

So done with being labelled a murderer for wanting to live normally and have proper social interactions.

I hope not. I wear it when I have to but hate it and only go to the shops for small bits at present to limit the time. I really need to go xmas shopping but Am not sure if I’ll be able to wear one for a few hours .

@CorianderQueen out of interest, why are you wearing one on the walk to work?

@BananaPop2020
@RaspberryCoulis you are spot on, this is absolutely going to become a prize virtue signalling opportunity.

If people need to justify their total selfishness by name-calling those who do care, I'm sure those who continue to wear masks in some situations will be well able to brush off such an obviously self-serving assault.

Oh we're all murderers, every single one of us, if we're to be held responsible for hosting and passing on any germs that could theoretically kill someone. We have all been part of an infection chain for some pathogen that killed someone, I guarantee it. The moralising over this is completely irrational, we're not going to eliminate this coronavirus and we're certainly not going to eliminate the common cold. Germs gonna germ.

But why do some cultures cope with it then @TempsPerdu and don a mask to be polite, whereas many in this country seem to think it is a barbaric ask to wear one, and can't cope without social interaction. How much social interaction is there on a crowded tube at rush hour, used to be a skill to avoid eye contact with anyone.

@RaisinsRuinEverything

I think the legislation is in place for 6 months from 24th July so we might be able to ditch them on 24th January... here’s hoping... Anyone know if that’s true?

Nope that won't be happening.

Barely any one will have been vaccinated by then and it's right in the middle of winter & flu season.

Easter at the very earliest.

@ineedaholidaynow

But why do some cultures cope with it then *@TempsPerdu* and don a mask to be polite, whereas many in this country seem to think it is a barbaric ask to wear one, and can't cope without social interaction. How much social interaction is there on a crowded tube at rush hour, used to be a skill to avoid eye contact with anyone.

I would be interested to know how many people in a lot of the cultures being cited actually did wear masks before this, or perhaps before SARS. It looked so unusual to Western eyes that it stood out and looked prevalent, but was it actually a minority? I work at a university and always noticed Asian students wearing masks on public transport to campus - it stood out - but the vast majority didn't. I'm not so convinced that there was the universal willingness to do this outside a pandemic that lots of people claim there was.

How can you hate masks, that's just weird.
They protect against all sorts, well at least some kind of protection.