Sainsbury's and Tesco have joined the bookseller, Waterstones, which has said customers should wear masks to protect staff and other shoppers.

[UndercoverToad]

Good.

@Chillychangchoo Sure ☺️

@soredust does responsibility not extend to those around you?

@Fangsalot89

Why are you still rolling around in this mud you talk about? One would imagine that must be quite the task from your imaginary pedestal 🤣🎣.

@Fangsalot89
@Chillychangchoo

You both look like idiots now.

@MyGardenSanctuary I do completely agree but I just couldn’t help myself. ☺️

We've spent 18 months looking out for people around us

Most vulnerable are now vaccinated

So it's time to move to the next stage before more young people kill themselves
In fact not even 'young'.... just people who are now mentally at breaking point

We have to live next to the virus. It's never going to go away completely

@MyGardenSanctuary

Agreed.

Some people on this thread really need to grow up. I'm cringing so hard on their behalf I've just turned inside out.

@TheVampiresWife We’ve all been childish before. Let’s move on. ☺️

[quote Fangsalot89]@soredust does responsibility not extend to those around you?[/quote]
Nope.

@soredust Why do you live in a society that involves the input of others then?

Johnson knows perfectly well that most people don't care about wider society. People elected him knowing he only cares about himself. For most people personal responsibility means lip service until it becomes inconvenient and then it's I'm done / I've done my bit / fuck you / screw everyone else. And in recent years people don't hesitate to verbalise this.

If people expect others to carry on wearing a mask, as it is the right thing to do for greater society, do they not see the paradox that arises, whereby we need to open up for the greater good of society.

Small businesses struggling
Entertainment for peoples enjoyment
Peoples mental wellbing
Education
Starting to make inroads to the non essential operations building up

If people expect others to make sacrifices for them, then surley they shoudl be equally as open to making sacrifices for others..

Surely shops can’t enforce something that isn’t required by law anymore?!

Shops aren’t going to turn away customers if they aren’t wearing a mask.

Masks weren’t enforced when masks were legally required so why would it start now?!

And if shops do get shirty about it, I imagine the frequency of the words “I’m exempt” will hugely increase.

@fromdownwest
Opening up and expecting to wear masks is not the same thing.

I don’t have any issues personally with everything being open because I do believe we now need to start the slow process of recovery and adaptation but if you’re inside say, a supermarket, it’s not an issue to put a mask on but it could save lives and/or slow this down to a manageable virus

It’s all a facade anyway. Just making themselves seem to sound like they’re safe and care. Half the customers in our local supermarket haven’t been wearing masks right through the pandemic and nobody has said anything.

Interesting tweet about a GP surgery. They are saying that exemptions were enshrined in the legislation on mask wearing and now that legislation is gone they will expect all patients to wear a mask.
"We know that the vast majority of our patients are clinically capable of wesring a mask for the short duration and low physical exertion if a consultation"

twitter.com/john_actuary/status/1415665566430285826

[quote Fangsalot89]@fromdownwest
Opening up and expecting to wear masks is not the same thing.

I don’t have any issues personally with everything being open because I do believe we now need to start the slow process of recovery and adaptation but if you’re inside say, a supermarket, it’s not an issue to put a mask on but it could save lives and/or slow this down to a manageable virus[/quote]
But it is, it is not allowing us to progress to the normality of before. The token gesture of wearing a poorly fitted, not fir for purpose pieve of cloth is holding us back.

@ilovesooty

Johnson knows perfectly well that most people don't care about wider society. People elected him knowing he only cares about himself. For most people personal responsibility means lip service until it becomes inconvenient and then it's I'm done / I've done my bit / fuck you / screw everyone else. And in recent years people don't hesitate to verbalise this.

Johnson knows that quite a lot of people voted him in. He actually stands for lies, selfishness and corruption. So the bar is quite low when it comes to public spiritedness in many ways.

He has tried hard to choose herd immunity. It is cheap, requires no effort from the Government and if a load of vulnerable people die n the process, that is a burden off Health and Social Services isn't it? Probably?

Adults were inconveniently getting too ill with this approach so we are trying herd immunity with kids now, which appears not to be working either (I am going to look more at that data)

@TeddingtonTrashbag

I would be inclined to go in without a mask. If they aggressively insist, will smile sweetly, don one. fill a trolley with frozen food, get to the checkout and then realise in horror that I’ve left my purse at home and leave with a promise to return, and leave them with their perishing pile. Thanks f enough of of us do that , they might getthe message that bullying doesn’t pay.

That’s so ridiculously stupid. You’ll be wasting food plus giving the waste job to someone who has absolutely nothing to do with the fucking mask policy. >

@fromdownwest

If people expect others to carry on wearing a mask, as it is the right thing to do for greater society, do they not see the paradox that arises, whereby we need to open up for the greater good of society.

Small businesses struggling
Entertainment for peoples enjoyment
Peoples mental wellbing
Education
Starting to make inroads to the non essential operations building up

If people expect others to make sacrifices for them, then surley they shoudl be equally as open to making sacrifices for others..

Risk dying? Because some other people can't be bothered wearing masks for part of the time? (Different if it's because of PTSD etc)

I'd rather wear a mask occasionally, social distance etc thanks.

@herecomesthsun - But the risk so minimal now, and I am sure the masks people wear and how they wear them have Zero uplift in safety of others.

Social distancing has huge implications on how small busineses run, so it may not be an issue for you, however, it may for others.

If people are so vulnerable that any exposure will be a risk, do online shopping. Or, as I epxect, people are over cooking the risk, to make a statement.

I wear a mask, so I am superior.

[quote fromdownwest]@herecomesthsun - But the risk so minimal now, and I am sure the masks people wear and how they wear them have Zero uplift in safety of others.

Social distancing has huge implications on how small busineses run, so it may not be an issue for you, however, it may for others.

If people are so vulnerable that any exposure will be a risk, do online shopping. Or, as I epxect, people are over cooking the risk, to make a statement.

I wear a mask, so I am superior.[/quote]
Masks reduce infection - there is a widespread scientific consensus on this - maybe by 25%.

We haven't vaccinated enough people. We have hardly vaccinated any children at all. We are very far from any sort of herd immunity, which we probably can't achieve with vaccines alone.

Vaccinations alone are not enough to manage going back to 2019, with more infectious variants.

The risks are not "so minimal now", we have some hospitals coming under a lot of pressure again.

Also, vaccines appear to lose effect after several months, some of the most vulnerable who were vaccinated early are becoming more susceptible again.

"I don't wear a mask, I am so ignorant?"

@herecomesthsun - What number do you want then? Zero Covid deaths?

The risk to children is minimal, as all the data suggests. The vulnerable and at risk have been offered a vaccine. If they choose not to take it, on them be it, but do not expect the rest of us to withhold our lifes, because people will not take a vaccine.

The wider ramifications are yet to be felt, waiting lists for surgery through the roof, small businesses struggling to stay afloat.

63 deaths and 582 hospitilations is minimal, each death is tragic I agree, but people do die. Sad fact of life.

166,000 thousand people die from cancer each year, somewhere along the line, people have forgotten that were are mortal, and deaths do happen.

I might be optimistic asking this question But it is genuine because I'd like to know.

A few people have referred to masks definitely working to reduce infection. Is there actually any evidence to support this? I mean peer-reviewed research-based evidence, not anecdotal reports or scientific opinion. I thought there wasn't any, but I will be delighted if that's wrong.