Masks are here to stay aren’t they?

[Redbrickwall]

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 .

@ineedaholidaynow

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

Polite adjective having or showing behaviour that is respectful and considerate of other people.

Not a description of today's Britain, unfortunately.

@Choirbells

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

Are you new here?

There's lots of evidence that it isn't particularly healthy to live in too sterile an environment, incidentally, especially for children.

@TibetanTerrier you are way off the mark with your last comment. Once it becomes LAWFUL to not wear a mask, I am not sure that you have any right to take issue.

I think they will stay to some extent. Pre-Covid, I secretly thought every single mask-wearing tourist was being ridiculous. Now? I think wearing a mask if you can makes sense.

I'm really prone to catching colds - in normal times, I get the tube several times daily, I work in an office and I spend a lot of time socialising in groups in enclosed spaces. I've only had the one cold since March, which is unheard of. It's been really nice not being ill all the time.

Plus, there are so many reusable masks in circulation now. Do you really think people will bin them all? No, they've become fashion accessories. They'll end up like gloves. Some people bother, some people don't, but no one really notices/cares.

I'll admit, I actually find a face-covering quite liberating. No one can really tell I'm not smiling at them. I can just walk around with resting bitch face and no one is any the wiser.

@Hardbackwriter

There's lots of evidence that it isn't particularly healthy to live in too sterile an environment, incidentally, especially for children.

I don’t know but I have wondered this, is it that good for the general population at large to try and avoid all illnesses even mild ones?

@Hardbackwriter I agree, there will be a whole host of other problems that spring from this. I recently read about a measles outbreak because people are either too worried or unable to get their kids vaccinated.

@AcornAutumn

No, black snot is not an urban myth, unfortunately.

It's not just the underground either. I get it just walking around for the day.

He backtracked as Boris certainly didn't think this to be the case.

He said that once the vaccine was in full force and life was back to normal or almost normal that they wouldn't be mandatory but some may choose to carry on.

I do hope some things do carry on, like people washing their hands a little more and maybe not coming to work or a party if they are ill. I certainly will be moving to a cheek kiss when there are pervy family friends around.

@Choirbells

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

I suffer cold sores but I usually get one every 18 months - 2 years. I’ve had several large, very painful impetigo cold sores since I had to start wearing masks. Coincidence maybe but I doubt it. Plus I always end up with some sort of shitty post viral thing after cold sores foo.

Is it really weird not to want to wear one that causes me that? Is it not selfish for other people to expect me to wear one (post Covid) just so they don’t get a cold?

[quote WitchesBritchesPumpkinPants]@AcornAutumn

No, black snot is not an urban myth, unfortunately.

It's not just the underground either. I get it just walking around for the day.[/quote]
Agreed.

I suppose if you live in Outer London, things might be different there...? Maybe the pollution is less thick further out...?

Back in the days when I went on holiday, it's how I could always tell I was back home in London. It's very much a real London thing.

[quote BananaPop2020]@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 😐[/quote]
The browsing in a shop criticism was largely about non buyers taking up space 'for a mooch about' rather than ACTUALLY supporting businesses. This debate is different. Yes it's shit that we can't get back to normal yet. I've had many a cry over it but (probably because I have to wear one for 8 hours a day - retail, not NHS) I don't actually find wearing a mask that big of a deal. The first day was horrendous but as other PPs have said it's now quite cosy on a cold night and I wear it as a nose warmer.

Thankyou @snowballer for answering who JVT is

@Literallynoidea Yes, I watch the news, some days, but don't particularly take notice of names, and wen I do know the name of a person, I wouldn't associate them with their initials.

In TEAMS meetings at work we aren't a particularly big Team (I can recognise everyone that speaks by their voice) but I look at their initials on the circles saying who they are and have to think quite hard to work out who that it. That's with about 16 people I know well in a meeting, not a person that I don't know who might be called in to give briefings on the news sometimes.

I don’t know but I have wondered this, is it that good for the general population at large to try and avoid all illnesses even mild ones?

No its not, you need constant exposure to mild viruses and a variety of bacteria for a healthy immune system.
Over hygeine is also linked to the increased levels of allergies and even childhood leukemia.

Anyone getting colds all the time who is not taking a decent amount of vitamin D should do so. I'm almost immune to anything respiratory since I corrected my deficiency.

@TempsPerdu
Do we ban avocados because a tiny proportion of the population have a severe avocado allergy?

This is no comparison at all. Someone with an allergy has control over what they eat. Someone whose health can be jeopardised by a virus that is not dangerous to most cannot control whether someone shedding a virus sits next to them on the tube or stands over them at work. Just wearing a mask for a few days when we know we're unwell is a very, very small thing to ask. Apart from individual health this could make a huge difference to absenteeism and the economic health of the country. But it is dependent on people giving a damn about something other than themselves - and the vast majority are almost proud to declare they don't.

@Tumbleweed101

I won't be wearing them once they stop being compulsory as I really struggle with my glasses misting and haven't found a way of stopping it from happening. I have to put in contact lenses every time I want to do more than a quick pop into a shop which is a pain.

I find the rectangle ones that expand are the best, they MUST have a nose wire & even better still if they have a slot fir a filter. A folder tissue or paper towel in the slot absorbs some of the moister & the nose wire pressed firmly into place - and Im good to go with my glasses.

I bought some of the ones 'which' recommended as the best - they're lovely fabric, very soft, shaped - but USELESS with my glasses. I keep them for walking, not driving!!

@Batteredoldchesterfield but that thread then expanded into a conversation about the importance of social interaction for those who have little other opportunity to see people.
On THIS thread, I was supporting the point made that inevitably, some people are going to take the moral high ground when wearing a mask out of choice, not because they are mandated to, which is the key point.

I've found I've struggled more wearing the mask as it's got colder, so I don't plan to wear it longer than I have to. I'm hoping we'll be encouraged to wfh if we have a cold ie well enough to work but coughing / sneezing to stop spreading germs about. There were two people in my team last year, both use public transport, and they were ill several times over the winter but still came into the office.

I will carry hand sanitiser with me though. My job usually involves a lot of travel and meeting people, and this has made me realise how dirty my hands must have got!
It will be interesting to see if the huggy / kissy greetings are reintroduced or we take up asian-style head bows instead.

[quote BananaPop2020]@TibetanTerrier you are way off the mark with your last comment. Once it becomes LAWFUL to not wear a mask, I am not sure that you have any right to take issue.[/quote]
No idea to which comment you refer, but it's immaterial. Although this country is well on its way down the toilet, one thing it does still have is free speech - so I have every right to take issue with anything I please. And if you're suggesting that simply because something is not illegal it should not be questioned, you're on a very sticky wicket.

@TibetanTerrier by that rationale, you can’t then complain when people offer a view that opposes yours, as you have done upthread. And let’s be clear, this is a nuanced and specific discussion, so your last comment is, to quote you, “immaterial”.

I hope not but I have a feeling at the end of next year only a small percentage of people will have been able to be vaccinated. It's a negative view, I know, but it's just going by past experience of the government and health service capabilities for the ever growing population.

Sorry, I am far too tired to read the whole thread, so my apologies if a pp has already mentioned this.
Once all vunerable people have had their flu and Covid 19 vaccines (which includes me), it would be very unhealthy and irresponsible to keep on wearing masks. We all need to build up immunity from young childhood, and keep topping that immunity up by being exposed to viruses. One of the main reasons primates, particularly isolated groups of gorillas etc have had to be protected from tourists at all times, but particularly during this pandemic, is that even the virus from a humans mild cold could prove fatal to these primates, because there has never been a chance for them to build up any natural immunity from these viruses. It is exactly the same for humans, if we are not (under normal circumstances) being almost constantly bombarded with different germs, then when we do get one, it can kill us.
So, it should actually be mandatory not to wear a mask once this pandemic is over, unless someone already has a compromised immune system.

So should people stop washing their hands too @Bl3ss3dm0m

[quote BananaPop2020]@TibetanTerrier by that rationale, you can’t then complain when people offer a view that opposes yours, as you have done upthread. And let’s be clear, this is a nuanced and specific discussion, so your last comment is, to quote you, “immaterial”.[/quote]
I have never complained when people offer a view that opposes mine, and I defend everyone's right to post anything they like. I do, however, exercise my right to challenge people's views if I disagree with them. It's called debate, and it's what a forum is for.

My last comment is a direct response to your erroneous assertion that I should not question mask wearing once it becomes lawful not to wear them. It was you who introduced that to the discussion, not I.

@TibetanTerrier do you know what, this is going nowhere, and I just can’t be bothered to argue with you about who said what. It’s meant to be the season of goodwill. So, that in mind, have a great Christmas and all the best.