Why can't people wear masks?

[TomAllenWife]

Properly!!!! It drives me insane!!!!

Either wear it or don't, but for the love of god stop wearing it on your chin or under your nose because it's doing fuck all

Surely it's not rocket science?

I was on a flight yesterday and would say a large amount of passengers were wandering around with masks under their chins, or just over their mouths

I thought most masks (apart from properly fitted FF3 masks) are pointless anyway?

My DS2's masks slip down easily, no idea why, maybe it's the shape of his nose, but he'll have it on properly, proper size, but I've watched it slipped down while he's walking.

@Hodl

I thought most masks (apart from properly fitted FF3 masks) are pointless anyway?

No, not at all. Where have you got that?

There are two purposes - stopping stuff getting out, stopping stuff getting in. A basic surgical masks prevents a considerable amount of stuff getting out.

I actually agree OP.
If you are wearing one then just bloody do it properly
If you can’t wear one fine (although I’m sure there are more wont’s than cant’s) but if you do then actually DO

@GiveMeNovocain

Masks really do bring out the best in everyone. It's lovely how they've brought us all together

😂😂😂😂🙈

@rrhuth
There are two purposes - stopping stuff getting out, stopping stuff getting in. A basic surgical masks prevents a considerable amount of stuff getting out.
A basic surgical mask does if worn properly, not if worn under the chin, not if worn under the nose, not if left with vast gaps either side of the nose when people don't bend the nose bridge to fit. They should also only really be used once, at most for one day, not the same one for days at a time, the grubby single single use masks used again and again, a different way out every time.

This has been the problem all along, even with FFP3 masks, unless a mask is fitted properly then they lose a huge amount of effectiveness. There is a world of difference between ideal use and real world use scenarios for most people. the vast majority of people are using masks in such a sub optimal way that the effectiveness is low.

@Fairylights25

lucky I don't know where you live but I live in the UK and for the whole of 2020 more or less every single person wore a mask, and properly and the infection rate only came down with a full lockdown.

You can bleat that masks are saving the world from this deadly virus, but that doesn't make it actually true. The only thing that effectively stops covid spreading is a full lockdown, and we ain't doing that again.

I don't like masks so I shop on line, drive everywhere and go to restaurants, bars and parties etc to socialise where it is gloriously mask free. It really doesn't bother me at all. I hate shopping anyway.

No, it's all the mitigations combined: masks, vaccines, localised lockdowns when necessary, etc. No one thing alone can do the job alone. Masks are extremely effective - sorry you're unable to work out how to use them properly.

Re: your comment about Covid spread in the home - of course it will spread among families as no-one wears masks at home, do they?

@TinaWeymouthsBass

www.theguardian.com/world/2021/nov/17/wearing-masks-single-most-effective-way-to-tackle-covid-study-finds Actually mask wearing cuts spread of covid by over 50%!

Yeah right. We've never got rid of masks in Scotland and we have just as high rates as the rest of you.

@Whyisitsodifficult

Masks are as effective as a pair of pants holding a fart in!

You won't be wanting a surgeon to bother with one when she or he operates on you then I take it

@Whyisitsodifficult

Masks are as effective as a pair of pants holding a fart in!

Are you Piers Corbyn?!

I hate them, they are incredibly damaging to the development of young infants and children learning to speak, read expressions and make sense of the world. To people locked out of life because they can't lip read and therefore are unable to communicate at all. They are terrible at blocking connection with others, and create a constant feeling of isolation. It must look like a terrifying world to a three year old, and quite frankly all for what? To bring the infection rate down fractionally.

No one ever talks about the damage masks do - and have already done.

@allbartwo

Many people are clearly only wearing masks to avoid confrontation or "getting into trouble". Masks aren't particularly pleasant to wear for a long period of time, so who can blame anyone for breathing a bit of fresh air?

Seriously?

So it’s ok for all the HCP, carers, people working at tills etc… to have to wear a mask all day long. But somehow it’s impossible for the others to wear it for a couple of hours from time to time?!? They need fresh air…

Right…

Now of you were talking about the respirators that dentists and HCP in covid ICU wards are wearing, then yes I’d agree with you. But somehow those people aren’t the ones doing the grumbling.
If we had to wear FPP2 masks, then I could understand better (even though not fully tbh).
But a normal disposable mask? Come on. There are more uncomfortable things to do/wear. For example high hill on shoes.

You won't be wanting a surgeon to bother with one when she or he operates on you then I take it hmm

Why - 18 months on - are people still coming out with this shit? Of course being cut open in an operating theatre is just the same as a trip to Tesco.

Have we had "if you don't like masks you'll hate a ventilator" yet?

Since we have to wear them in shops again I’ll routinely pull it down so it’s just over my chin as soon as I leave the shop if I think there is a decent enough chance I’ll need to then pop into another place soon enough and put it back on. I’m not going to wear a mask outside but it’s too much of a faff to take it off, put it in my pocket and then take it out of my pocket and put it in again 2 minutes later..
I would imagine this is quite normal. When I see people with masks round their chins I also just tend to assume they were wearing it before and have only half removed because they might want or need to wear it again soon.

Re masks don’t work anyway…

Have a look at this thread from a someone who actually looked at the data.

twitter.com/trishgreenhalgh/status/1414294003479089154?s=21

They work. They even work better if you use good quality masks (and they dint have to be disposable btw).

@MLMshouldbeillegal

You won't be wanting a surgeon to bother with one when she or he operates on you then I take it hmm

Why - 18 months on - are people still coming out with this shit? Of course being cut open in an operating theatre is just the same as a trip to Tesco.

Have we had "if you don't like masks you'll hate a ventilator" yet?

Always amazes me that people are still trotting this shit out every single time there's a mask thread.

Like open heart surgery is in the same league as doing a weekly shop. Jesus wept.

Pack it in. There is NO comparison.

@MLMshouldbeillegal

You won't be wanting a surgeon to bother with one when she or he operates on you then I take it hmm

Why - 18 months on - are people still coming out with this shit? Of course being cut open in an operating theatre is just the same as a trip to Tesco.

Have we had "if you don't like masks you'll hate a ventilator" yet?

Why after 18 months are people so thick that they can't understand that wearing masks cuts transmission? Why do you think they are worn in hospitals? Why do you think they magically don't work outside hospital settings? They reduce the amount of droplets in the air it's not fucking rocket science. If everyone in Tescos is wearing one then you reduce transmission. That's why other countries, like the country I live in, made them obligatory everywhere and continues to make them obligatory indoors and in schools. And yes, we do have much lower rates and kept our schools open from September 2020 with virtually no closures.

@Fairylights25

I hate them, they are incredibly damaging to the development of young infants and children learning to speak, read expressions and make sense of the world. To people locked out of life because they can't lip read and therefore are unable to communicate at all. They are terrible at blocking connection with others, and create a constant feeling of isolation. It must look like a terrifying world to a three year old, and quite frankly all for what? To bring the infection rate down fractionally.

No one ever talks about the damage masks do - and have already done.

I completely agree with this. There was recently a post where the op said she felt more confident taking her young dd out and about now everyone was masked again and my first thought was (unless vulnerable - I don’t believe she was) was that she’s benefit significantly more from being able to see people’s faces!

I wear a mask because I don’t want to get into confrontations with people in the supermarket. It’s not PC to say so, but I’ve reached a point of apathy - and I believe many others have too.

Why can't people wear masks properly
simple, because they’re selfish arses who only care about themselves. I agree, it’s not difficult.

The surgeon analogy is really daft. You can be in favour of masks and point out that there's decent evidence showing good usage can reduce transmission by about 10% ie the Bangladesh RCT, and still get that there's no comparison.

I want my open heart surgeon to wear a mask, yeah. I don't want it to be one that they've fiddled with several times, doesn't necessarily fit their face and were wearing on the bus before they rocked up to the operating theatre.

@brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

at this point in the pandemic I have no patience any more for people who selfishly refuse to take a basic precaution to reduce transmission

I agree. And because people are 'bored' with masks, the vulnerable have to suffer. Nice.

Why after 18 months are people so thick that they can't understand that wearing masks cuts transmission? Why do you think they are worn in hospitals? Why do you think they magically don't work outside hospital settings? They reduce the amount of droplets in the air it's not fucking rocket science. If everyone in Tescos is wearing one then you reduce transmission. That's why other countries, like the country I live in, made them obligatory everywhere and continues to make them obligatory indoors and in schools. And yes, we do have much lower rates and kept our schools open from September 2020 with virtually no closures.

Mandatory mask wearing has worked so wonderfully in Scotland, hasn’t it?

@Fairylights25

I hate them, they are incredibly damaging to the development of young infants and children learning to speak, read expressions and make sense of the world. To people locked out of life because they can't lip read and therefore are unable to communicate at all. They are terrible at blocking connection with others, and create a constant feeling of isolation. It must look like a terrifying world to a three year old, and quite frankly all for what? To bring the infection rate down fractionally.

No one ever talks about the damage masks do - and have already done.

Better this than more people dying, surely?

I don’t understand why so many people think that masks do no good at all! If you cough and sneeze without a mask on there will be a significant amount of droplets expelled into the air, if you have a mask on it will reduce the amount of droplets somewhat, it’s just common sense. Surely some protection is better than none

It actually doesn’t matter if you “believe” in masks or not
I am not medically trained to know if/how effective they are and neither are most of the idiots on the internet
Unless you are medically exempt you are legally required to wear one in certain situations so just do it
I have never know a situation before where so many people feel they know better than experts and feel qualified to spout so much crap. We don’t trawl the internet for advice before deciding whether to obey other laws so why this one?
It’s a piece of material on your face not a yellow star or forced sterilisation or any other stupid analogy that stupid people dream up when they should just admit they don’t like wearing one
I hate it but I do it - which probably makes me complicit in genocide or some shit