When would you feel comfortable for things to go back to normal (masks, etc.)

[Suprima]

Made the mistake of wandering onto Facebook and saw someone who is not CEV (I know them well) swearily bemoaning people not wearing masks at an open air garden centre.

My own views are kind of pick and mix re: mask wearing (and happy to be challenged on this)- anything open-air, nope. Spacious but well ventilated area- nope. Busy tube platform or carriage- yes. I am double vaccinated and testing regularly as part of work though, which might make me more lax.

I am aware that some people are wearing them all of the time, at every public event no matter if it’s open air or not. If this is your stance- what environment would make you feel like you could ‘go back to normal’ regarding events and mask wearing?

Not a goady thread at all. I’m curious and wondering if I should be more vigilant.

I'm feeling quite angry that here in Scotland, it's still compulsory. I am ready to make personal choice over masks as I struggle with panic attacks with something over my mouth. I have tried my best to get along with then since they were brought in but now I think people should be permitted to make their own judgement call. I'm so very tired of having to drop shopping and be rescued because of panicking. Time to allow common sense here I think.

I sometimes use public transport. I am healthy and double vaccinated but have been previously happy to wear a mask to protect others because I am not a snowflake and taking a few simple precautions is no big deal. But the majority don’t extend the same courtesy to other people, so I stopped bothering to wear a mask.

I think it will be a while yet. I’m doubly vaccinated and cev and I still wear my mask everywhere. Hasn’t stopped me at all in fact I’ve gone on holiday etc. I welcome the sight of masks and in my area people still abide by the keeping distance rules .

@EddieVeddersfoxymop

I'm feeling quite angry that here in Scotland, it's still compulsory. I am ready to make personal choice over masks as I struggle with panic attacks with something over my mouth. I have tried my best to get along with then since they were brought in but now I think people should be permitted to make their own judgement call. I'm so very tired of having to drop shopping and be rescued because of panicking. Time to allow common sense here I think.

Isn’t that a good case for a medical exemption? I’m not familiar with the rules in Scotland.

I don’t wear a mask in an open space, but I think they ought to be mandatory for public transport.

Still wearing in the same way as before the restrictions were lifted. We are still required to do so at work and work is still restricting the numbers who can come in.

My concern is for those who are vulnerable who can't wear a mask.

Eventually I will stop but not yet planning to do so.

I’m happy to continue to wear a mask in busy places, on public transport and indoors with lots of people around.

After July 19th, when it was no longer compulsory, lots of retail outlets were ‘encouraging’ people to continue to wear masks although it couldn’t be enforced, of course. What really annoyed me , was the tannoy messages and notices outside the local Sainsbury’s, urging people to carry on wearing a mask ‘to protect our colleagues’ when the same colleagues were not wearing them. Of course it’s a personal choice, but don’t preach about it when your managers and staff are not prepared to protect the customers.

Many people have had two doses of the C-19 vaccination, but this not mean that these people everyone have protection against infection.

For example, my sister, who works in a school, has a chronic illness. Her medication for this means that she is unlikely to produce an adequate immune response to the COVID19 vaccinations, so she at risk of becoming (potentially very) unwell should she become infected with C-19.

I wear a mask in all indoor, public places. The mask is to reduce the risk of infected people with no symptoms passing on the disease to others.

I also keep my distance when speaking with people outdoors, where masks are not in use.

*Many people have had two doses of the C-19 vaccination, but this does not mean that these people have protection against infection.

I wear them on public transport or hospitals. I also weae one in small businesses where its requested - the hairdressers does and a couple of small shops. I don't wear one in large supermarkets or boots type shops

I'm young, I'm fit. I've had covid (including long covid), I'm now double vaccinated with the booster. I'm happy to take the risk myself, I was wearing masks yo protect others but most elderly people round me aren't wearing masks anymore so there's kind of no point

I'd have been happy to never have worn one. And for the most part, I haven't.

I'll carry on. We still wear them at work and there are far far more cases in the U.K. than this time last year. Hospitalisations are rising and we have among the highest rates in the world. This isn't over.

Perhaps when we don't have 45,000 new cases per day, which is sitting in stark comparison to other nearby countries?

I will continue to wear mine. What I do notice is the people who don't wear them, are the ones who continue to cough and sneeze all over the place. No mouth covering and no one seems to know what a handkerchief is for any more. I will be keeping my mask on indoors and in crowded places. Public transport is another place my mask will be on my face.Also with the faulty lab results in Wolverhampton, no wonder cases aren't going down. You have all those people wandering about thinking they are fine, through no fault of their own I may add. We have the military driving ambulances up here. Do without a mask, aye ok. Won't be me. Other people need to make up their own minds, at the moment we have a cold doing the rounds here that has made some folks rather poorly.

I’m happy to ditch everything now.

I'm so so conflicted.
I'm always aware of those among us for whom the vaccine doesn't work well enough, or they can't have it, and for whom underlying conditions mean they could get seriously unwell.
Since BoJo has decided our children are perfect for transmitting covid in the wider community though I'm not sure we hold a lot of power as individuals.
I'm also concerned at the severity of other viruses this year because we've spend so long mask wearing and distancing.
I just don't know.

I see about 50% in London

I do sometimes, but not always

I don’t think there’ll ever be an announcement from the government / medical establishment / whoever/ that mask wearing is no longer required. Some people will continue wearing a mask in the belief that they will be told when to stop. Some people will never feel safe unless they are wearing a mask. Personally, I just risk-assess depending on the situation. At the moment, I will wear one in medical establishments or on the tube. Went to a large indoor shopping centre yesterday and hardly saw anyone with masks on and felt comfortable with that.

I’m not vaccinated, not concerned about the risk to me, but I wear a mask as they hopefully provide some protection for others. I also test regularly.

@BonnesVacances

The honest answer is that I have no exit plan. And I'm quite prepared to keep doing it for now.

DD(19) is CEV. She also caught Covid last year despite shielding because she got it via DH who's a teacher or DS. She's been bedbound since. So I'm protecting her by wearing a mask and limiting indoor activities for the foreseeable, which is even more necessary now that everyone seems to think the risk has completely vanished. In the whole scheme of things, it seems a small thing to do and I can't lament not going to the cinema when my DD is stuck in bed!

Meanwhile my DSis, who also had it last year, recovered and is double jabbed, did her own risk assessment and wanted to get back to normal believing she would be fine. So she caught it again and didn't recover this time. She has now developed the same heart condition as DD and has had to hand her notice in at work. But she was happy to take the risk. I'm not.

So as I said, I'm happy to do me and let everyone else do them. Just as long as they stop asking me how long I'm prepared to do it as if I'm doing something wrong.

So I'm protecting her by wearing a mask

But wearing a mask protects others... not the wearer

When we get through the autumn and winter period and see signs that the NHS might be able to cope with covid and other illnesses.

I think this is the way it will be forever now (with perhaps slightly fewer people wearing masks in public after this winter) It won't be unusual to see people in masks out and about, and people won't question it.

But, saying that, I think it will be standard for medical settings from now on.

@00100001 depends what mask. I'm wearing an FFP2 one to protect myself, not others

I wear a mask indoors in any public space. I have no understanding of why people don't quite honestly. It is rampant at the moment and shop workers, public transport staff, teachers,medical staff etc are all expected to do their jobs CEV or not.Masks don't make all the difference but they make some difference. It is common courtesy to wear them. I will stop when the numbers are down and the health service has a clear run at things, I'd like to think that that will be in the spring. Where I live the vast majority of people wear masks in supermarkets and on the train to London the other day it was the same.

I wear one most of the time; but I’m heavily pregnant, and rates are awful where I am. I am fully vaccinated, but I don’t want to tempt fate.

I’m happy for people to do what they wish, as long as they keep a reasonable distance and aren’t coughing etc.