How should masks be enforced in public?

[User158340]

Indoors in general (shops, public transport etc).

I don't believe in making it mandatory because there are people who are genuinely exempt but there's so many piss takers.

There should be 'medically exempt' badges dished out by GP's only, on prescription essentially.

This should have been GP led from the get go, not trusting the British public. We see where that gets us.

Non mask wearers shouldn’t be admitted to indoor public places full stop. I don’t understand why the government can’t just make them mandatory.

There should be a local council administered service for shopping for the very few that are genuinely exempt and the even fewer who have absolutely no one to go to the shop for them. It’s not like there’s not been enough time to set it it up.

@McSilkson Wearing a mask is akin to having a tissue in front of your face to catch coughs and sneezes and we’ve been told for years this is the way to prevent respiratory viruses spreading. How can wearing one not prevent Covid spreading which is also a respiratory virus?

Oh god those 'mask wearing is pointless' studies say nothing of the kind. They're invariably mistranslated through the medium of Instagram, twitter, You tube etc.

@UnrulyJulie

Non mask wearers shouldn’t be admitted to indoor public places full stop. I don’t understand why the government can’t just make them mandatory.

There should be a local council administered service for shopping for the very few that are genuinely exempt and the even fewer who have absolutely no one to go to the shop for them. It’s not like there’s not been enough time to set it it up.

How do we go to work? Or medical appointments? Or use public transport?

Are you suggesting those with disabilities/health conditions which prevent them from wearing masks should not be allowed to work or access medical care?

@Biscuitsneeded you can buy the lanyards on ebay so they have no validity at all - for example here - you can buy the lanyard and the 'hidden disabilities exempt' card

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hidden-Disabilities-Sunflower-Lanyard-Face-Covering-Exempt-Card/324424997878?hash=item4b893c9bf6:g:o9AAAOSwEUBf0P-l

@UnrulyJulie

Non mask wearers shouldn’t be admitted to indoor public places full stop. I don’t understand why the government can’t just make them mandatory.

There should be a local council administered service for shopping for the very few that are genuinely exempt and the even fewer who have absolutely no one to go to the shop for them. It’s not like there’s not been enough time to set it it up.

I kind of agree with this, there are many alternatives to a mask, be it a visor or scarf. Both my DD’s are exempt but both have slowly got used to wearing a mask, one is severely autistic, my step dad has severe COPD but won’t go anywhere without a mask and I am a domestic violence survivor that manages to wear a mask/scarf, there are days where I can’t cope with wearing one so those days I don’t go shopping (tbh shopping makes me anxious on a normal day). I understand that there are some that can’t wear them but you can get clear visors which may not b3 as effective but are better than nothing.

Yup there are seat belt exemptions and they are far a few between. They are incredibly rare to be granted in medical grounds.

When you don't need to wear a seat belt
You don’t need to wear a seat belt if you’re:
• a driver who is reversing, or supervising a learner driver who is reversing
• in a vehicle being used for police, fire and rescue services
• a passenger in a trade vehicle and you’re investigating a fault
• driving a goods vehicle on deliveries that is travelling no more than 50 metres between stops
• a licensed taxi driver who is ‘plying for hire’ or carrying passengers
Medical exemptions
Your doctor may say you don’t have to wear a seat belt for a medical reason. They’ll give you a ‘Certificate of Exemption from Compulsory Seat Belt Wearing’. You must:
• keep this in your vehicle
• show it to the police if you’re stopped

MerciSeat genuine non mask wearers should have been furloughed and should stay at home so no need for public transport except in emergencies like seeking medical help. In which case I believe there are alternatives to normal masks such as ones which are positioned further in front of the face for those who can’t cope with something directly on their face? Or they could hold a scarf in front of their face as a barrier. It is their responsibility to find an alternative surely?

Better an achy arm from holding a scarf up than infecting those around you and potentially being responsible for deaths isn’t it?

@wixked

Yup there are seat belt exemptions and they are far a few between. They are incredibly rare to be granted in medical grounds.

When you don't need to wear a seat belt
You don’t need to wear a seat belt if you’re:
• a driver who is reversing, or supervising a learner driver who is reversing
• in a vehicle being used for police, fire and rescue services
• a passenger in a trade vehicle and you’re investigating a fault
• driving a goods vehicle on deliveries that is travelling no more than 50 metres between stops
• a licensed taxi driver who is ‘plying for hire’ or carrying passengers
Medical exemptions
Your doctor may say you don’t have to wear a seat belt for a medical reason. They’ll give you a ‘Certificate of Exemption from Compulsory Seat Belt Wearing’. You must:
• keep this in your vehicle
• show it to the police if you’re stopped

What does that have to do with mask exemption?

There should only be certain face masks accepted under the guidance, ie disposable surgical masks as a baseline. It’s ridiculous that scarves or old t shirts initially counted as a face covering - they provide no protection to others as nothing is filtered out, just pointless. Likewise there’s such a wide range of reusable masks which offer varying degrees of protection, it’s safer to just have a baseline standard offered with the disposable kind.

@UnrulyJulie

MerciSeat genuine non mask wearers should have been furloughed and should stay at home so no need for public transport except in emergencies like seeking medical help. In which case I believe there are alternatives to normal masks such as ones which are positioned further in front of the face for those who can’t cope with something directly on their face? Or they could hold a scarf in front of their face as a barrier. It is their responsibility to find an alternative surely?

Better an achy arm from holding a scarf up than infecting those around you and potentially being responsible for deaths isn’t it?

But they weren't furloughed. So you see, they still have to go to work. And hospital appointments, and use public transport...

If having an achy arm would solve the problem of being unable to wear a mask, I'd have done it months ago.

It's funny, when masks first became mandatory there were still loads of people around here that were "exempt", now there's hardly a single person not wearing one, but still plenty wearing them wrong, which I find even more irritating.

Personally I think that, for a short period only, mask wearing in public indoor spaces should be mandatory. Full stop.

It is not disability discrimination to not allow the visually impaired to drive, on The grounds of risk to public health. Right now, the same is true for masks.

In the same way as those shielding were shopped for, so should those who are unable to wear a mask. They should, right now, effectively shield.

In a few weeks, we can go back to where we were, relying on public good will.

Recently moved to Ireland (3 months). I shop once a week at the supermarket - probably been to 4 different supermarkets in 3 months, there's a petrol station with a shop at the end of our road, I went to a few clothes shops in the brief period they were open before Christmas and I dropped DC off at nursery every day before they closed. Plus numerous Dr and hospital appointments.

I have genuinely only seen 1 person without a mask in all that time - an older man going in to pay for petrol. I've seen a few people with visors instead of masks. Oh and children not wearimg them - but actually quite a few who are. Very very different to what I saw in supermarkets in the UK.

Nothing to add to this tread but just an observation.

Why does everyone think masks are the answer?

@TheReluctantPhoenix

Personally I think that, for a short period only, mask wearing in public indoor spaces should be mandatory. Full stop.

It is not disability discrimination to not allow the visually impaired to drive, on The grounds of risk to public health. Right now, the same is true for masks.

In the same way as those shielding were shopped for, so should those who are unable to wear a mask. They should, right now, effectively shield.

In a few weeks, we can go back to where we were, relying on public good will.

But it would be disability discrimination to not allow blind people to earn a living, use public transport or access medical care. Which is, essentially, what you're advocating when you say that exempt people should not enter any public spaces.

'Should shield' doesn't come into it - until we are told to shield, we cannot. We can't just stop going to work. And those who were shielding were not banned from entering public spaces anyway - what you're proposing is far more draconian than that.

I’ve had the same mask since they were made compulsory. Gets washed if I accidentally leave it in my jeans pocket but the rest of the time it’s either screwed up in my bag or on the floor in my car. I wear it if I have to but don’t really give a damn whether it actually does anything.

@Iheartmysmart

I’ve had the same mask since they were made compulsory. Gets washed if I accidentally leave it in my jeans pocket but the rest of the time it’s either screwed up in my bag or on the floor in my car. I wear it if I have to but don’t really give a damn whether it actually does anything.

oooh get you, you rebel!!!

its not disability discrimination its the equality act

i think people make things up to suit themselves. since when has half the exempt lot had a disability?

@BlairCorneliaWaldorf

How does a shopper prove a medical exemption? Are exempt people going to be issued with a badge?

I have seen people wearing lanyards round their neck to prove exemption. This works for me, it saves me confronting someone who isn’t wearing a mask.

@Iheartmysmart

I’ve had the same mask since they were made compulsory. Gets washed if I accidentally leave it in my jeans pocket but the rest of the time it’s either screwed up in my bag or on the floor in my car. I wear it if I have to but don’t really give a damn whether it actually does anything.

Are you actually proud of that?

@confuseddotcom090

Why does everyone think masks are the answer?

Because it’s pretty much all we’ve got at the moment

How do we go to work? Or medical appointments? Or use public transport?

Are you suggesting those with disabilities/health conditions which prevent them from wearing masks should not be allowed to work or access medical care?

But I can't do any of those things because I'm CEV. No-one really gives a fuck.

I've had to agree to postpone a long-standing hospital appointment tomorrow, that was bloody important to me, because they say it's not safe any more.

I'm having NHS physio by phone on Wednesday. I waited since March 2020 for this physio course.

@Iheartmysmart

I’ve had the same mask since they were made compulsory. Gets washed if I accidentally leave it in my jeans pocket but the rest of the time it’s either screwed up in my bag or on the floor in my car. I wear it if I have to but don’t really give a damn whether it actually does anything.

🤮 dermatologists, look away before you recoil in horror. The competitive lack of hygiene standards strikes again.

I reckon if the government marketed masks as protecting the wearer, the compliance rate would shoot up. I wonder if some of the people claiming exemptions would consider wearing masks if it was for their own safety rather than others.