Masks to be Mandatory in Scotland until at least next Spring

[Ginandfantalemon]

Just read this and wondered what others in Scotland are thinking.
The article states that Scotland will stick to the strictest rules in the UK and it is hoped that voluntary mask wearing, as in Asian Countries, will be a measure that is adopted. I truly don't know if I can go on anymore. I haven't been out for over a year because of these bloody rules and this is just enough now.

@Shellfishblastard

Yes I am in full support of it and I am happy to continue to wear a mask. It is a small ask in my opinion.

OP have you tried wearing a mask? I have to wear one to work and you do get used to it. It’s weird initially but after a while it’s ok. Could you try wearing one around the house / garden to get you more used to it?

Please not this again, do you not think that those of us that can't wear.masks know we.cant because...Well we've tried. Let's not start the "if only you try hard enough" rhetoric again

@Doodlebug71
"because of the number of people who cannot be arsed to wear a simple face covering to protect themselves and other people"

This right here is why I don't have the confidence to wear a lanyard.

@dementedma, why was the agm cancelled?

[quote Ginandfantalemon]@Doodlebug71
"because of the number of people who cannot be arsed to wear a simple face covering to protect themselves and other people"

This right here is why I don't have the confidence to wear a lanyard.[/quote]
@Ginandfantalemon, dont pick up on just that though. For every arsey person out there,theres 10 others who get it. Or even if they dont get it they'll cut you some slack as we aren't all dickheads

“ Please not this again, do you not think that those of us that can't wear.masks know we.cant because...Well we've tried.
Let's not start the "if only you try hard enough" rhetoric again”

But why can’t I ask? I know people who struggled initially and got used to them. It’s like anything in life.

The amount of people who genuinely cannot wear a mask for health reasons is very small.

The amount of people who say they can’t wear a mask, but could, is likely to be higher.

I’m not questioning the OP - I believe she struggles. But the alternative is get exemption and go and live life.

@Ginandfantalemon. I've been in a similar situation to you. Out and about for walks, just avoided shops and public places. I wore a mask on the rare occasions I've been in a public place with other people. Masks aren't comfortable, but worn correctly, they work, and I have a family to think about.

Those "bloody rules" are designed to help everyone, not just you. The reason we had to have rules in the first place was because too many people are either scientifically or politically illiterate (or both) and would rather pish-pish the evidence for wearing masks than accept that they're a very useful barrier, when worn correctly.

I'd suggest you watch Professor Dorothy Crawford's lecture about viruses and microbes, and how they spread. The graphic at around 9minutes 53 seconds should prove very useful.

I wish Boris had as much sense.

It’s about the one and only time i can say I agree with what Nicola Is doing. Mask wearing should be mandatory in the whole UK at the moment in my opinion

Then perhaps we should consider them moving forward for crowded places, less colds and viruses passed on, less cases of flu, etc

I don’t have a problem with them in shops, public transport etc

@ssd.

dont pick up on just that though. For every arsey person out there, theres 10 others who get it. Or even if they dont get it they'll cut you some slack as we aren't all dickheads

Good for you. Covid won't cut anyone any slack. The dickheads are the ones actually believing that an exemption somehow confers immunity. It doesn't. That just increases the viral load for everyone else.

Also don’t understand why the mandatory wearing of masks should cause an event to be cancelled - why would an AGM be cancelled because you need to wear a mask?

I chair a committee. We aren't holding an AGM atm because I'm not comfortable doing it a mask (I have ptsd and whilst I can manage for short periods...has been a long journey involving self harm, almost being sectioned, offered an inpatient bed and anti psychotics). I still get overwhelmed at points and have had full on episodes with flashbacks so I limit where I go that requires them. Luckily nowhere important so far but I'd hate my fellow committee members to see how pathetic I am underneath the facade.

But you can remove your mask when seated at your desk?

We need to wear them at work while moving around the office - but once seated we can remove them.

I have two exemption lanyards on their way to me in the post. I have struggled with the panicky feelings, the claustrophobia and the difficulty in breathing for over a year and add in menopausal hot flushes and I'm not doing it any more. And if other people thinks that makes me a "dickhead" then quite frankly I don't care.

Queen Nicola told us that vaccinations were our way out. But that was clearly yet another lie. She is quite happy for students to crowd into nightclubs, drink, dance, snog the face off each other, but our kids to continue wearing masks in school and around the supermarket?

It's disproportionate to the level of risk, doesn't make sense and is just another of example of Queen Nicola's willy waving with Boris and the other First Ministers to show who's the hardest.

@DancesWithTortoises @Chloemol yes, they should be mandatory. No exemptions. I'm guessing that Johnson and his colleagues only removed restrictions so they could have their holidays without breaking any rules. We'll see.

He didn't care about bodies piling up, he didn't care about kids going hungry. He's head of the political party that spent the last decade punishing the weak and vulnerable for being weak and vulnerable. He's not going to give a shit if more people end up weak and vulnerable.

Sadly, neither do too many of the electorate, it would seem.

@Shellfishblastard

“ Please not this again, do you not think that those of us that can't wear.masks know we.cant because...Well we've tried. Let's not start the "if only you try hard enough" rhetoric again”

But why can’t I ask? I know people who struggled initially and got used to them. It’s like anything in life.

The amount of people who genuinely cannot wear a mask for health reasons is very small.

The amount of people who say they can’t wear a mask, but could, is likely to be higher.

I’m not questioning the OP - I believe she struggles. But the alternative is get exemption and go and live life.

Because we've had over a year of being told that we don't try hard enough. Along with being told that if we can't wear a mask then we should stay at home.

And I totally sympathise with the pp about wearing a lanyard. The one good thing about having a hidden disability is that it is hidden and we don't need to tell people unless we want to.

To the pp, what helped me is to put my keys on my lanyard, I still hate wearing it (and living in England it has been liberating not wearing it the last few weeks), but mentally I tell myself I'm just carrying my keys.

The people who will sick with it are the people who are forced too, employees and school kids.

Yet countless people on this thread alone have said they are happy to wear one. My friends in England wish it had been kept there and still wear them themselves. On the other hand absolutely no one bats an eyelid at someone not wearing one now. Maybe a year ago but not now.

@dementedma

Scotland is practically a dictatorship under the SNP quite frankly. The wearing of masks at indoor gatherings has had me cancelling our AGM just this morning, again. Other events are in jeopardy. Life in Scotland is nowhere near "normal" or even close to it. And yet, for all the caution, infection and death rates are no better per head of population than anywhere else. It is the usual SNP agenda of doing exactly the opposite of whatever Boris does.

Exactly this. I am honestly gutted at how shit Scotland has become and this is just a slap in the face to all of us who have been holding on patiently for these stupid pointless rules to be over.

@HelloMissus

Is anyone in Edinburgh. Was wondering how the fringe is going? This is the first year I’ve not bothered in a long time.

I'm in Edinburgh, I've absolutely no idea how the fringe is going. Forgot it was on so I'm guessing not that well 😆

Oh and @Ginandfantalemon, if you're anywhere near Glasgow, i'll come and meet you, we'll both wear our lanyards and we'll go for a coffee.

Nobody will dare even look in your direction as I have perfected my "fuck off and don't come near me" look.

They are a legal mandatory requirement and you can be fined for not wearing one. I shouldn't need to break the law to be 'free'.

But you aren't breaking the law as you have a legitimate reason to be exempt

OP I’m so sorry you’re living like this. It’s awful.

Try taking small steps, like going into a cafe to get a take away coffee without a mask on, without a lanyard on - no one should need to advertise any sort of disability. Maybe take a friend with you for some moral support? Hopefully no one will be a c*nt about it. I haven’t heard of/ experienced any negativity for not having a mask on, but I guess there will always be obnoxious dicks about.

I think I live in a different Scotland to the one portrayed on mumsnet! Dictatorship my goodness quite sensible to continue wearing masks. I'm not sure what other restrictions there are on my life at the moment other than that. Don't know anyone who disagrees and I haven't seen anyone maskless in a shop or hairdressers! Very thankful to have Nicola and not Boris throughout this whole thing.

@TheGenealogist

Oh and *@Ginandfantalemon*, if you're anywhere near Glasgow, i'll come and meet you, we'll both wear our lanyards and we'll go for a coffee.

Nobody will dare even look in your direction as I have perfected my "fuck off and don't come near me" look.

Ah thank you, that's kind. Maybe I need to learn that look!

OP - go out for a walk tomorrow and wear a mask for 5 minutes. Do it for 10 minutes the next day. You will be fine. At the surgery where I work we have had loads of people saying they can't wear a mask due to anxiety and they all manage it for as long as they are in the building.

Those saying scotland has a dictator really don't realise how offensive that might be to those living in a country with a real one.

In Scotland police and authorities have taken less authoritive steps than in England when fining business' and people throughout the covid restrictions.

The news has been reporting that boris may implement more restrictions in a few months and have firebreak lockdowns. At least the Scottish government have not told us its over to go back to normal.

Every buisness is open now. Masks are not the biggest deal breaker for most people. We are not the only country to keep masks.

Other countries that removed restrictions without contingencies in place have had to reinstate some. Its harder to do that than have some continuous ones in place for a period of time.

@pianolessons1

OP - go out for a walk tomorrow and wear a mask for 5 minutes. Do it for 10 minutes the next day. You will be fine. At the surgery where I work we have had loads of people saying they can't wear a mask due to anxiety and they all manage it for as long as they are in the building.

Could you be any more patronising?

I am so fucked off with the "you just need to try a bit harder" shite. OP has quite clearly said that on the few occasions where she has had to wear a mask, she has not managed. She has a right to an exemption.

I do hope you're not policing people coming into your "surgery" with a lanyard and telling them with a head tilt that they just need to try a bit more.

Jeezo.