Mask wearing where you live?

[julieca]

Went to the supermarket today which was busy and only a few people were wearing masks. Nearly everyone was not. I have noticed over the last few months the amount of mask-wearing going down, and now very few people wear masks outside of the GPs surgery 9where they are still compulsory).
So are people wearing masks where you live, or have they mainly given up?

It seems to vary where I am, some days I’ll see masks everywhere and some days I won’t see any.

I mostly wear one but haven’t always.

East of England and I barely can see anyone wearing the mask in shops. Maybe 10% or even less do..Don’t use the public transport so can’t comment.
Both DH and I had COVID in August and ditched masks then. Can’t infect, can’t catch it again so soon.

I agree that the mask wearers seem to be the grim -faced less friendly ones.

How rude

Where I am it seems odd if I spot anyone wearing a mask now, hardly anyone wears them. Even in the doctors surgery.

I was driving home at midnight recently through a village and saw a guy in his early twenties walking along alone wearing a mask. I don't get it

Strange though it sounds it might be a warmth thing , my DS leaves his on sometimes as feels a bit warmer with it. Clearly the answer would be a coat but they don’t seem to do coats!

@EileenGC

100% wear them, but I'm in Germany where they're compulsory, we're only allowed FFP2 and you are not allowed to enter a shop/train station or anywhere else, if you're not wearing one.

Are there medical exemptions for masks in Germany?

I'm in Scotland where mask wearing is compulsory but we seem to have an awful lot of people, much more than would be expected in a population, to have some kind of medical exemption.

@MrsJackWhicher

I agree that the mask wearers seem to be the grim -faced less friendly ones. I was in Twickenham last night for the rugby snd the pubs were crammed packed with people dancing/singing and having a really good time, thank god. Guess the mask wearers were all at home looking for neighbours to report for putting their bins out too early as parking an inch on a yellow line.

Maybe these "grim-faced" people are actually frightened?

Whether or not you agree with their perception of risk, please have some compassion for those who might be feeling unhappy in what they believe to be a dangerous environment. It isn't necessarily because they are petty rule-followers.

I'm glad people are able to go out and have some much-needed fun, but please don't judge people who don't feel able to do so.

East Midlands here. Very little mask wearing - probably saw two or three in Tesco yesterday afternoon. Bizarrely, I spotted more plastic visors than masks and I thought these had been gone out of fashion in the summer.

Fewer and fewer by the week. The ones who seem to wear them are the ones that sanitise their trolleys and baskets. Not sure if it’s fear or a habit?

I think masks are pretty useless. A well-fitting FFP2/3 or N95 might work, not the gappy blue ones and floral cloth ones that everybody is wearing. But even if they did work, you are wearing them in the wrong setting. The chances of you picking up covid from a complete stranger in a supermarket is tiny. Think about how many of your local supermarkets have closed due to covid outbreaks - I expect it’s close to zero. Your chances of picking it up from a friend or family member are far greater, so you’d be better off wearing a mask in bed with your husband than wearing one in Tesco IMO.

Everyone’s given up round here thank God, and cases in my area dropping like a stone, so it’s all good.

I'm in the south west and would like to stop wearing a mask as I dont believe they are effective but every time I go to the supermarket the vast majority of people are still wearing them so I put one on so as to not upset anyone.

“Grim faced” - what a silly thing to say
About 50/50 mask wearing in cheltenham yesterday - more masks in the “posher” shops, perhaps due to older clientele?

Are there medical exemptions for masks in Germany?

@AwaAnBileYerHeid yes there are, but they need to be certified by a doctor. You can’t declare yourself exempt.

I have still never seen anyone without one in a shop or other buildings, because private businesses have the right to refuse you entry if you’re unmasked, exempt or not. Supermarkets challenge you at the entrance and you’re turned away if unmasked, or are wearing the wrong one. Where I work (performing arts venue) you cannot go in without a mask, even if you’re exempt. The health & safety plan which allows us to stay open to the public is based on 100% medical/FFP2 mask wearing.

Certain shops are more relaxed and people going to the hospital or using taxis with an exemption don’t wear their masks. Same for long distance train or airplane travel.

Case around here rising and lots in primary school aged kids. I wear a mask in shops etc as the sales staff do and it seems like a small courtesy. I have to wear a mask and sit in ventilated (open window) rooms if I'm with more than one person at work. But that hasn't changed since May 2020....

East Anglia , went out on Friday to local tourist attraction , retail but sort of National Trust, , was struck by the fact that everyone was in masks. Waitrose and M&S very much masks the norm as well. In our local small town I would say it’s about 60% masks in shops, but the bigger county town apparently much lower.

I'm currently on holiday, amazingly everyone is capable of wearing masks on the plane and in resort (compulsory moving around inside) not an exempt lanyard in sight! At home even during the January lockdown last winter 20-30% claimed exemption and mask wearing is 50/50'at best now, only the elderly wear them generally

NE England. Both daughters have to wear masks all day at school (2 different schools in different council areas). I wear my mask everywhere in support of them. If they have to do it, why shouldn't I?

Sales of lipstick 💋 💋 must be down. I haven't bought any new ones in over a year. Don't see the point when I've got a mask on.

Gogohm , maybe people who genuinely can't wear masks have not travelled abroad for that reason!

My friend (who lives in a different county to me) went to London to a museum and was horrified by the proportions not wearing masks where she went and talked about “Londoners” being blasé, forgetting that given where she was going in london, a good proportion were tourists like her and not necessarily from london at all.

No, but it's been this way for ages here in Birmingham.

In August, I went to Exeter where everybody was wearing a mask. I was impressed, as in contrast, hardly anybody in Birmingham was even back then. I stood in a queue in the city centre Primark and counted just one with a mask on.

Three months on and nothing has changed here, can't speak for Exeter...

[quote EileenGC]@Silverswirl

Yes unfortunately because so many are refusing the vaccine there.

Eh? What does that even mean? Germany has fully vaccinated 67.4% of its population. The UK stands at 68.4% (you can google this).

There aren't 'many' people refusing the vaccine, where did you get that from? Please name reputable sources, not 'the British media'.[/quote]
From the data I’ve read Germany is at 67.4 with 2 vaxx and uk at 80% fully vaxx.

coronavirus.data.gov.uk/details/vaccinations

Bear in mind kids can’t be fully vaxxed here 12 -18 year even if they want to so that’s not to do with willing. Numbers would be a lot higher is 2 vaxx were approved for that age group.

Like pp, I'm in a country (Italy) where they are still mandated, (inside and outside where SD isn't possible)

On the news last night there are concerns about rising positivity (1.6% from about 500,000 tests) so some cities are bringing in their own regulations about outdoor wearing.

Dd's school still has total mask mandate, though if everyone in the class has a Covid pass they can remove them.

Like Eileen there are exemptions here but have to be certified by a doctor. It's also very rare to see a cloth mask.

I hardly see anyone outside of the elderly wear them these days, I'm in the S.E.

I never wear one, unless going into a medical setting.

About 50% of older pensioners wear masks here, but very few people that are younger.

We had the 11th highest rates of Covid in the UK last week.

There's some clear confusion about transmission and the role of vaccination/antibodies on this thread.

There are also some very unkind comments about those that choose to wear masks.

My friend's family choose to wear masks when they're out and about. Not because they are "grim faced" but because her DH has terminal cancer, and whilst they are trying to sometimes go out and make memories together as a family, he likely wouldn't survive a bout of Covid.

My family wear them as my DC is clinically vulnerable, and has only just had their second jab. They've not been attending school as it was easier for school to approve the absence of one child than try and get all of their classes to wear masks without a mandate.

I can't decide whether some of you haven't really given this a lot of thought before casting aspersions, or whether you're being deliberately unkind.