Why are we still wearing masks?

[Couldntrememberthewordbasket]

I’m not in the U.K.

Where I am, we still have to wear masks in the supermarket/petrol stations etc..we’ve never not had to,
The U.K. don’t, right?
Why are we still having to do this? I can’t see it ending, will be so very odd going shopping without masks

[quote 2X4B523P]@Tealightsandd

Just looked and according to Worldometer our population is 68.4 million versus France at 65.5 million.

I suppose we need to be western centric as we are a western nation.[/quote]
Ah sorry. Thanks for the correction.

We are in the west geographically but that's no reason for not learning good lessons from the east.

Of course people can condone what they want but the choice to wear one is still there, so if a high proportion agree with you people will wear them.

@2X4B523P

Oh forgot to address the fall due to tests, PCRs are down 9.1% on the week average, certainly no where near enough to explain the difference between UK and France.

Perhaps their more accurate testing? I don't know if it's the case for France but some continental European countries aren't counting self administered tests, because of the higher risk of inaccurate results. Which btw are much more commonly false negatives. Also depends on whether they're doing mouth as well as nose, as nose only often fails to detect an infection.

@Tealightsandd
If you want to work out whether mask mandates actually work, one of the best ways to do so is to compare countries which are demographically similar and have a similar level of restrictions except in respect of masks. You are trying to control for other factors as much as you can in a natural experiment.

It makes much more sense to compare the UK to Ireland, Scotland, Wales or to a slightly lesser extent Germany, Spain etc. than to South Korea because the rules in South Korea have always been completely different in many respects. You don't know if it is masks making the difference or other factors (like very harsh quarantine system and t&t for example). If you look across Europe, it is very difficult to prove from covid rates, deaths etc that mask mandates have any long-term effect. What is it, for example, that we think masks are doing in Ireland at the moment? Is it really plausible that rates would be much higher without masks, given that they are already higher than most places in the world.

People who support masks often now say masks are effective as part of a package of measures rather than alone. I'd guess that the non-mask related part of that package would be exactly as effective without mask mandates as with them.

@MarshaBradyo

Of course people can condone what they want but the choice to wear one is still there, so if a high proportion agree with you people will wear them.

Yes but the point is, this type of safety measure is similar to smoking in public spaces or speeding. Successful mitigation relies on other people's choices.

makes much more sense to compare the UK to Ireland, Scotland, Wales or to a slightly lesser extent Germany, Spain etc. than to South Korea because the rules in South Korea have been completely different in many respects.

There's no good reason why we can't do the same. Circumstances change. For 100 years, we've always not had a pandemic like this one. Now we do.

We're not anything special or particularly different from other countries - wherever in the world they are. You seem to think we're more incapable of taking simple mitigation measures?

Things change. For 100s of years, smokers had full freedom (and were a massive boost to the economy - I'll post the study confirming this, if you don't believe me?). Then times changed. Major change to the rules people here were used to. If we can manage that, we can cope with a couple of simple and easy pandemic mitigation measures.

@TheKeatingFive

Still, who are we to take moral high ground over China?

Well in their initial lockdown there was a story about a disabled teenage who died of starvation because his parents were hauled off to isolate and he was left to fend for himself.

So yeah, pretty happy to condemn that. You?!?

If he didn't die of covid, good luck with that one!

@TheKeatingFive

I'm in ROI where we have vaccine passports, a mask mandate and an 8pm curfew for all hospitality/entertainment venues.

And right now we have the highest (or very close) covid rates in the world.

So let's engage with reality a little here.

Yip Covid is a super clever virus and knows not to come out before 8pm - what nonsense - Scotlands had all sorts of stupid time restrictions.

You can only get a table in a pub for 2 hours, so people who are on the ball, book a series of tables in different pubs.
Which thinking about it means instead of someone polluting one pub they pollute 2 or 3!

The curfew is particularly batshit.

I need to rescue some of my evening away from here. I told myself the other day that I need to remember to bookmark good articles. There are some excellent experts speaking about it all - scientists and medical doctors from around the world, including virologists, epidemiologists, and immunologists from Oxford, Harvard, and John Hopkins universities (amongst others from all parts of the world) explaining very simply and clearly the mitigating benefits of masks.

The English footstamping over masks is utterly bizarre. As well as the moral aspect of taking an easy measure to protect the more vulnerable, protect our young from the fate of that poor man in the article (disabled by Long Covid) and ease pressure on our burnt out HCP, mitigations including masks help keep the economy going - with fewer disruptions and they bring us closer to some kind of normality, at least until we have more of the world vaccinated, better knowledge, and wider access to the new treatments. In time we should have all these things.

Enjoy your evenings.
😷💉

Enjoy yours too.

I am quite fittingly watching 'The Masked Singer'. They are asking who is behind the mask. Not us for much longer hopefully.

I would have thought the concept of Plague Island would be left in 2021 to be honest. It never really came to fruition.

As to the English and masks. I think that is the Government removing them is a political issue. As for the public - I learnt from DS (9) when we went to the US that when something is a rule that you must do - you do it. When something becomes optional it is easy to fall into the trap of not. I dont think we do footstamp when it is a rule I think it is just easy not to when it is not.

Vaccine passports are a very tricky one I think it is complicated and one which as long as you can also test should be done.

And you cant simply change years of cultural/social and legal differences just for a pandemic - you simply cant. The tracking systems of South Korea would never overcome GDPR!

But, why don't you want simple mitigations like masks?

Because I prefer to be exposed to cold and other viruses so that my immune system is constantly working!

I also struggle to understand people as English is not my native language.

Is it different when English people complain about masks to when people in other countries do it? Sounds a bit exceptionalist to me.

I'm hoping masks become voluntary rather than mandatory by end of the month. I find them very hard to tolerate and feel like I can't go out except for essential reasons. I'd like to go to a museum but wouldn't be able to tolerate a mask all day, for example. The mask mandate has impacted my life more than any other covid restriction. It is unnatural to have airways covered, it gives me a sore throat, restricts my vision as a glasses wearer and I can't hear other people so well. I don't believe it makes any real difference to cases, most will be from close contact which are friends and family not random strangers. My children hate wearing them all day at school and aren't doing so well this term as they can't concentrate so easily.

I realise some people are fine with wearing them, but a significant group do struggle even if they aren't exempt.

I have been made to wonder if I have sensory issues, I realised through thinking about my difficulty with mask mandates that I also can't tolerate hoods, hats, scarves and roll neck jumpers!

@Tealightsandd

I need to rescue some of my evening away from here. I told myself the other day that I need to remember to bookmark good articles. There are some excellent experts speaking about it all - scientists and medical doctors from around the world, including virologists, epidemiologists, and immunologists from Oxford, Harvard, and John Hopkins universities (amongst others from all parts of the world) explaining very simply and clearly the mitigating benefits of masks.

The English footstamping over masks is utterly bizarre. As well as the moral aspect of taking an easy measure to protect the more vulnerable, protect our young from the fate of that poor man in the article (disabled by Long Covid) and ease pressure on our burnt out HCP, mitigations including masks help keep the economy going - with fewer disruptions and they bring us closer to some kind of normality, at least until we have more of the world vaccinated, better knowledge, and wider access to the new treatments. In time we should have all these things.

Enjoy your evenings.
😷💉

Absolutely spot on post.

The mask mandate has impacted my life more than any other covid restriction. It is unnatural to have airways covered, it gives me a sore throat, restricts my vision as a glasses wearer and I can't hear other people so well.

I agree. I honestly struggle to understand people behind masks. And I find my mask gets so damp within half an hour of wearing it.

I also want my immune system to get exposed to cold viruses regularly.

I've seen two news reports this evening that restrictions expected to end in 10 days. One from the Express saying all restrictions (except 5 days isolation with negative LFT) to end including masks. Daily Mail reporting masks to stay though. I suppose we'll know more in the next few days.

@Couldntrememberthewordbasket

I’m not in the U.K.

Where I am, we still have to wear masks in the supermarket/petrol stations etc..we’ve never not had to,
The U.K. don’t, right?
Why are we still having to do this? I can’t see it ending, will be so very odd going shopping without masks

Duh.

Because you're not in the UK.

No idea why as a waste of time. I work in a hospital currently and the medical director acknowledges the standard masks are worthless. The only ones of any use are the full medical grade masks which you have to be fitted for.

Is apparently about reassuring people. Nothing to do with actually preventing infection

Is apparently about reassuring people. Nothing to do with actually preventing infection

I think it's mostly about signalling 'something is being done' which might amount to the same thing.

Being highly visible and cheap they're perfect for this purpose. Whether they achieve anything or not is immaterial.

Is apparently about reassuring people. Nothing to do with actually preventing infection

But it's worrying that people have a false sense of security with them and forget about social distancing.

All flag waving look we are keeping people safe. And no considerations to the many negative consequences of them, communication issues, skin problems, environmental risks.
Sooner they go the better.