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

[UndercoverToad]

Good.

@TopBitchoftheWitches

I work in both stores, you need to continue to wear a mask, thankfully, us store workers are sick of you putting us at risk, just to visit a supermarket.

It's a good point to think of those working in stores .

I can understand why a store worker may not want to wear one through an 8 hour shift but for most customers, wearing one for 45 mins while you do your shopping is not that difficult, and even if those who really struggle stop wearing one there is a benefit of the majority wearing one .

If you choose not to - and are not exempt - you have no one but yourselves to blame if infections spiral out of control and we are faced with restrictions again. You will be directly contributing to the suffering of others.

Is it not a bit more complicated than that? We have mandatory masks now and cases have spiked. I don’t think one individual deciding not to wear a mask is going to have all that much impact, compared to what eg raising statutory sick pay could do?

(yes, yes I wear a mask, I do think they help a bit, I just don’t agree they’re all that stands between us and lockdowns.)

@gardeninggirl68

would love to see waterstones,tesco and sainsbury's attempt a disciplinary with staff who won't wear a mask

same with customers, would love to see how they handle non mask wearers....

i work for a large retail company and i wont be wearing one , even if they so say we should , if its not the law anymore , its not the law and thats that as far as im concerned , iv had enough of struggling through my shift in a mask feeling like i cant breathe properly, not to mention how hot it is when the temp outside is up , im done with it now

@TeddingtonTrashbag how very grown up of you.

I'd just be tempted to be a reasonable, grown up person.

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.

What a horrible thing to do, it’s the workers on the shop floor who’ll have to deal with your behaviour, adding more workload to them, many who are in minimum wage. And they’d just put in back in the freezer, they wouldn’t bin it!

@gardeninggirl68 part of the reason the sanitizer you are putting out not being used is people carrying and using their own.

@user1471518104

Yes - www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/society/2021/jul/11/their-childhood-has-been-stolen-calls-for-action-to-tackle-long-covid

And @gardeninggirl68

It is not ‘utter shut’.

i work for a large retail company and i wont be wearing one , even if they so say we should , if its not the law anymore

You do realise your bosses can tell you what to do during your work shift? If they are telling you to wear a mask, you have no option but to do as they ask, other than to leave.

@LizzieSiddal

Good, I’ll only be going into shops/restaurants/cafes who are actively protecting their workers.

Good luck with that. I doubt anywhere will be enforcing it if it means turning customers away.

@user1471518104

Also from The Guardian:

Professor of immunology at Imperial College Danny Altmann said there was evidence from multiple countries that a significant number of people who get Covid are at risk of developing a longer-term illness.

Speaking to the Guardian, he said: “From every version of Covid we’ve ever seen on the planet, we’ve got a rule of thumb that any case of Covid, whether it’s asymptomatic, mild, severe, or hospitalised, incurs a 10 to 20 percent risk of developing long Covid.

@LizzieSiddal

Good, I’ll only be going into shops/restaurants/cafes who are actively protecting their workers.

Your halo is blinding me with its dazzle

Good luck with that. I doubt anywhere will be enforcing it if it means turning customers away.

Yes be heard they will bring back the security staff which shops had during the first lockdown. So yes, they will be inforcing it.

*I’ve heard

@gardeninggirl68 so what is ‘utter shite’ is your attitude to masks having read that.

@Bryonyshcmyony

You may think you have done your bit getting the vaccine, but actually you haven’t

The vaccine doesn’t stop transmission, or the possibility of you catching it. And if you do catch it you can still be severely ill, as a friend of mine has recently found out

By wearing masks and continuing with SD, it does help stop transmission, now that is doing your bit

Just under one million people in the UK were living with long Covid in June. Around 700,000 were of working age and 33,000 were children. The number with the condition for a year or more has increased to 385,000, according to official statistics.

Your halo is blinding me with its dazzle

It doesn’t mean I have a halo, it means I support those in retail and put their health above my own feelings about wearing a mask for 15 mins whilst I pop into a shop.

@LizzieSiddal

Good luck with that. I doubt anywhere will be enforcing it if it means turning customers away.

Yes be heard they will bring back the security staff which shops had during the first lockdown. So yes, they will be inforcing it.

They wont. Don't be so silly.

33 000 children currently suffering Long Covid - and all you care about is your personal ‘comfort’.

@LizzieSiddal

i work for a large retail company and i wont be wearing one , even if they so say we should , if its not the law anymore

You do realise your bosses can tell you what to do during your work shift? If they are telling you to wear a mask, you have no option but to do as they ask, other than to leave.

no , because as its just been stated its not the law to wear them anymore ,so how can a company force its staff to wear them when they arent complsory , . masks are not part of my bloody uniform im afraid , i wont be the only one in there , others cant wait to stop having to wear them either, . and anyway if push came to shove i would buy a lanyard

[quote UndercoverToad]@user1471518104

Yes - www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/society/2021/jul/11/their-childhood-has-been-stolen-calls-for-action-to-tackle-long-covid

And @gardeninggirl68

It is not ‘utter shut’.[/quote]
This is still supposition. There is no evidence that this % of people to are infected with covid then go on to develop long covid.

Have you also seen the statistics for the people who suffer from long covid are 10 times more likely to be working in the public sector on full pay?

Surely people will just say exempt like they do now

@user1471518104 oh don’t be ridiculous and minimise it, because you think you are superior.

Have some compassion.

@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.

How very grown up of you

I'll not be using shops which don't insist on masking.

You won’t be using any then. Because none have said they will insist.