Which would you prefer re masks?

[PuzzledObserver]

The BBC live news page just now was saying there are “hints” that masks and SD may be dropped over the summer.... but there is a risk they will be reintroduced over the winter.

What would you prefer? I mean, presumably ditch them immediately and for ever, but if that’s not possible, would you rather:

a) have a break over the summer in the knowledge they’ll be back towards the end of the year;

b) keep them until we’re certain they will never be back.

I would choose a, by the way.

I do wonder if more of those who want to keep masks work from home, so wearing a mask is something they are thinking about for the supermarket run or just the 10 minutes of school drop off / pick up.

For others, facing wearing a mask at work all day, and/or commuting to/from work on public transport without air con in the height of summer heat waves is just depressing. (The underground in summer is evil.)

We've been told work air con won't work this summer with all the windows and doors open for the covid guidance, but as there's lots of glass, without aircon it does get very hot, particularly if we can't put the blinds down to stop sunlight getting in as much as that limits airflow.

If we do need to wear masks throughout the summer, I for one will be praying for a cold miserable summer. (Sorry all of you who've spent thousands on overpriced UK holiday cottages.)

Just get rid of them. Awful and useless.

Just to clarify - I am a teacher and wear my mask for most of the day.

I do wonder if more of those who want to keep masks work from home, so wearing a mask is something they are thinking about for the supermarket run or just the 10 minutes of school drop off / pick up

Nope. Why would you make such a massive assumption?

As a frequent public transport user that’s one of the places I feel is most vulnerable to covid and think it should be one of the last places face mask restrictions are lifted. I’m no longer in the same work situation but have worked in an environment requiring masks throughout the whole pandemic and it’s been fine, if a bit sweaty,
even throughout last summer.

You should be pressurising your workplace to provide a solution for windows in direct sunlight. There are plenty out there if they’re given reason enough to look into it.

@Cornettoninja

I do wonder if more of those who want to keep masks work from home, so wearing a mask is something they are thinking about for the supermarket run or just the 10 minutes of school drop off / pick up

Nope. Why would you make such a massive assumption?

As a frequent public transport user that’s one of the places I feel is most vulnerable to covid and think it should be one of the last places face mask restrictions are lifted. I’m no longer in the same work situation but have worked in an environment requiring masks throughout the whole pandemic and it’s been fine, if a bit sweaty,
even throughout last summer.

You should be pressurising your workplace to provide a solution for windows in direct sunlight. There are plenty out there if they’re given reason enough to look into it.

Did you worry about catching viruses on public transport before covid? Did you wear a mask before? You wear one if you want. Most people will ditch them as soon as possible.

Did you worry about catching viruses on public transport before covid?

Yes, especially in the germ soup that is the underground

Did you wear a mask before?
No because masks protect everyone else, not me

You wear one if you want
So you want altruistic others to reduce your risk?

Most people will ditch them as soon as possible
Agree.

No because masks protect everyone else, not me

Masks also protect you, although not as efficiently as they protect others. A good mask should offer good protection for the user.

@tonystarksrighthand

Just get rid of them. Awful and useless.

Is that your expert opinion?

Also ditch them and never wear again.

Fine if people want to, but no compulsory masks ever again

Mask do protect the wearer as well.

My employer has paid for solutions to a hot building with lots of glass - air con and blinds. Except this summer, if we have a heat wave and still have covid restrictions, both won't be able to be used. Asking companies to spend more money on temporary solutions on the off chance when it should be OK if we don't need to wear masks is a bit much. I think many will just shut the windows and put the air con back on.

A

Mask do protect the wearer as well

Only some masks (FFP2/3 or N95) and only if you have them with a proper fit

B.
Keep plodding on and we'll be out of this sooner.

Is it worth noting as well - what some on here are arguing for, is that we have to keep wearing masks past the point when we need to, when there is no medical argument for them, on the off chance we will need to wear them in the future to avoid people saying no to wearing them in the future when we need to.

This argument is for masks to never go away. To wear them forever because there will always be a risk of a new coronavirus that's deadly.

If there is no longer a need for mask wearing in the UK this summer because numbers of cases are so low, the risk is no longer there of asymptomatic people in the community, then why insist on keeping masks ?

You are more likely to get people to refuse to wear them when its clear there is no need for them to be worn and less likely to believe government scientists if later on they say its bad enough to need masks again.

A) All the way for me.
I'd love to burn mine now.

Mixed - I'd prefer to keep them in medical settings and similar where there has been a higher rate of transmission, and have a break in other places if it's shown the risks are low particularly for the staff.

I think shops and such should have a choice on whether they want to continue requiring it on their premises. I've seen some little family shops near me that say 'no masks, no service' signs which reminded me of US shops that have 'no shirt, no shoes, no service' signs (or 'we don't take bra or sock money') and made me think that as we come out that it makes sense that shops will have different risk factors in terms of shop size and the risks to their staff so it makes sense for them to have that choice.

@Spied

B. Keep plodding on and we'll be out of this sooner.

To be fair, we've been told this for a year now. You can see why people don't really believe it anymore.

Did you worry about catching viruses on public transport before covid? Did you wear a mask before? You wear one if you want. Most people will ditch them as soon as possible

Thanks for the permission

Yes I would move away from people and open a window if available if someone was visibly (and more often than not audibly) ill. Never been a fan of people dousing me in their coughs and sneezes. But then I’m in the crowd who thinks eating a meal on public transport is rank so it’s possible we just don’t have the same standards pre-pandemic or currently.

I’m sure people will be happy to never see a mask again when they’re deemed unnecessary - where did I allude anything different?

But that's the whole point of this thread - should we get rid of masks this summer if they are no longer necessary with the possibility of having to bring them back out next winter (option A) or keep them this summer, when we don't need to wear them, to keep people in the habit of wearing them for next winter when we might need them (option B)?

Many people on here seem to think its a good idea to keep masks this summer when they are no longer necessary just in case the population are reluctant to wear them next winter if it becomes necessary to wear them again.

I can see the argument that if we stop wearing them, it might be a slower restart to wearing them (apart from anything else, lots of people will throw them out / lose them and need to rebuy next winter). But it does beg the question if covid is a long term issue in some form or other, will it ever be OK to not wear masks when many people hate them?

@MargosKaftan but where is the conclusive evidence that we don’t need them anymore? We’re still some way off a large percentage of the population being fully vaccinated and this is likely to be the case over summer. Yes last summer was fine but we had restrictions and used masks, we also weren’t dealing with more transmissible variants so that’s an unknown this year. I don’t think last summer is an argument considering that masks were widely used at that time.

Look, I have no problem with masks being withdrawn but I can’t ignore the many untested factors that need answers before that happens. I have no reason to be anything but optimistic about the direction that we’re currently headed in but I see no value in removing relatively simple measures before it’s proven as much as is reasonably possible (i.e as the data from vaccines is available on a large scale) that they’re no longer needed rather than jumping the gun and having to try and reintroduce them.

We’re doing really well as a country but doing well with what we currently have shouldn’t be taken as proof alone that it’s not needed. That just makes no sense, my roof keeps the rain out but my dry bed isn’t proof I don’t need a roof.

Ditch them. I'd rather people practice better hygiene. Masks are an environmental nightmare, reusable ones (majority of people are just wearing them over and over again without washing), babies and toddlers are missing out on important social and speech development. They are restrictive, I struggle to breathe properly. I'm still not entirely convinced on the effectiveness because we managed to get numbers low enough last year without them and supermarkets etc limiting numbers. Maybe the government thought we can get more people into the shops if they wear masks and spend money. It was a free for all as soon as they come in and the second wave was worse than the first.

I don't think keeping them on the basis people will be reluctant to put them back on in the Autumn is a decent reason to wear them during the heat of the summer (it's more the humidity of the summer over here to be fair). If they are mandated by law, the vast majority of people just get on with it. Those who are determined not to haven't been anyway, and then there's a handful who will wear one when they don't have to out of civic minded duty which is commendable enough.

Over in Australia they are back in lockdown in the Perth and Peel region. My brother is there and their last lockdown was in February this year having had no restrictions for ages and he didn't even have a mask. His partner made him one from some kind of bag for life with her sewing machine.

They are back in lockdown again and once again they have put their masks back on until they have it under control and then they get rid of them again. It's usually for about 30 days sometimes less then they are back to "normal" again for the next time. So from a behavioural point of view, it is possible for groups of people to accept going in and out of various restrictions and having worked in law enforcement over there I don't think they are necessarily a more law abiding population than the Brits though they are more wary about Covid obviously after managing to have so little of it, it's something they collectively want to hold onto.

Politically however, it is difficult. I think one of the reasons this lockdown has been so long and so drawn out and so cautious in the coming out of is because it's really hard politically to reapply a restriction that you have lifted. So saying "masks back on, it's September" won't cut it with the Covid Recovery Group of MP's for instance, let alone members of the public. There would need to be soaring infection rates, a new variant, or something to back it up which is fair enough. Which gives hope to those who want to see masks gone forever; having the legal mandate lifted makes it that bit harder to bring it back again.

It's an interesting behavioural topic and masks are deeply symbolic to some people for their lack of voice over how Covid has been handled, and to others over reminding people that there is an invisible threat out there which masks to an extent make visible.

On the one hand I want to say get rid of them entirely, as I loathe the sight of them, although I fear they have become very normalised in my mind. Last December I was on a ferry between Germany and Finland (Ferries from the UK to Spain and the Netherlands both had strict masks at all times except for eating or on deck) where masks were non compulsory. Mostly Russians and Finns on board, no one wore a mask. I didn't feel comfortable at all, because wearing one had become so normal in my mind.

I ended up wearing it for a few hours but in the end took it off. It felt really wrong.

This is coming from someone who has always believed the masks to be a psychological device aimed at getting people to feel comfortable leaving the house when we were due to start easing restrictions last year. They also gave the twitter and reddit crowds something to feel superior about, as wearing a mask was "doing your bit" and "protecting others". It was all quite clever really.

B. I'm happy to wear the masks now I've got used to them. I'd rather people always used them on public transport etc when they have colds and other bugs

I have absolutely no problem with them and have been pro lockdown too BUT I think we'll be able to get rid of them for good

We're going to have really good herd immunity soon with the vaccinations - certainly by mid summer. Look at the impact it's already making. I don't see there being any need for masks at all by mid summer and not in the winter either.