what % still wearing masks?

[WhereAreMyAirpods]

(obviously talking UK here, where masks haven't been compulsory in months).

I live in a part of Scotland where mask compliance was very high. Whatever people's personal thoughts on masks and whether they were effective, people wore them because it was illegal not to. It was exceptionally unusual to see someone unmasked in the supermarket this time last year, even after England ditched the masks and we continued, compliance was 95% or more.

Have just been to the local small supermarket, there was about 10 customers in, 5 in masks. And a masked member of staff.

And before everyone piles in with "oh they might be clinically vulnerable" well yes they might, but masks are supposed to protect me from them, and pre March 2020 I never saw one single mask, ever. Except in a hospital.3

Wrong post quoted. Will report to delete. Sorry.

I've noticed a surprisingly large proportion of people (still a big minority) still wearing masks over the past few months. In shops, on buses, trains, just walking down the street. What baffles me is when they have them pulled down below their mouth. When we had the heatwave in July there seemed to be more people wearing them walking outside than I'd seen for months.

I enjoy wearing a face mask so much, I've decided to make it a permanent feature to my face now

I wear FFP2 or better to reduce my chances of catching covid. In the short term I've I've got a holiday and a wedding coming up and don't want anything to get in the way of those. In the long term I don't want any effects from covid increasing my chances of a heart attack or stroke, or brain fog making it hard to work.

Around here it seems to be only people with covid who wear them so they can go out and about 🤦‍♀️

I do for hospital appointments as they still have signs up requesting this - and provide them at the entrance.
Otherwise no - although I think I will if I get a cold and need to go somewhere public as it just seems like the polite thing to do - I don't want to share my germs around.

What, you would give up every semblance of freedom and have friends running round after you for who knows how long? When you could wear a well fitting ffp2 or ffp3 mask. Why? Most of us immune suppressed people are able to do day to day tasks - but you would rather we remain hidden away so we don't offend your sensibilities.

Otherwise no - although I think I will if I get a cold and need to go somewhere public as it just seems like the polite thing to do

This is basically what people in Asia did - pre-covid you wore a surgical mask when you had a respiratory illness to avoid coughing or sneezing on people in crowded spaces or in the office. However, once covid emerged globally and masks were adopted in the west, a myth seems to have developed that people in East Asia wore masks all winter as a preventative measure pre-covid, which just wasn't the case at all. There might have been 10 people in my office of 150 at any one time.

Are you critically vulnerable in the 'eligible for advanced treatment' group?

I'm currently on a train. Not a mask in sight.

But I don't get it, masks supposedly don't protect the wearer (unless it's a special type) so why are people wearing them? Do they think it protects them?

I work as a volunteer in a medical setting and wear a mask to make patients feel safer, but I don't wear one anywhere else unless I have to...

Masks best protect other people from your exhalations.

But when other people aren't masked, then the imperfect protection from face coverings, and rather better level from FFP2&3 are all the critically vulnerable have. It's not much fun to still have to stick to outdoors only, and to hope the mask is enough indoors, for there are very few places with high levels of mask wearing (hospital departments such as oncology and haematology are notable exceptions)

What would be an utter gamechanger is the roll out of Evusheld - the only thing that works in the most vulnerable. DHSC has still not explained (as promised) it's rationale for that, and British policy really is at odds with those on other developed nations.

Only see a few old people wearing them in supermarkets now. No one wearing them at GP surgery last week.

Rarely, I’m in SW England. I saw a couple of people wearing one in the supermarket yesterday, I didn’t ask why, not my business, but it is definitely a rare occurrence here.

We were in a fairly high compliance area during the mandatory period. I don’t wear one now but still have half a box of ffp2 disposables hanging around.

Yes. Not that it's any of your business.

@nether Im so sorry for snapping at you. I thought you were a never-masker. I've had very little sleep. Yes, I do fall into that group.

Completely agree.
I’m in the group that’s eligible for advanced treatment as well. The way things are set up, the onus is on us (fine) - we still get sent tests, still have to do them if any symptoms so that we know to act and try to access those advanced treatments before the cut off for them being effective etc. Again, fine! Hardly surprising then that when our options are shutting ourselves off from society or opting for the very imperfect mask strategy, many of us do the latter.

That is pretty much what I was going to say!

I find that the masked are limiting their social interactions, though. I notice that people don’t speak much to them in casual situations like the bus stop or supermarket. If you can’t see someone’s face, it is impossible to tell whether they are ‘approachable’, plus half the time anything they do say is muffled and difficult to hear.

I also find ( anecdotes obvs) that masked people tend to be the ones to bang their trolley into yours, shove you out of the way or stand right across any fixture oblivious of those behind. I think it psychologically isolates people from their surroundings.

I don’t know what the people I see alone driving in cars in the countryside (where I live) with the windows closed wearing a mask think they are protecting themselves from. Not judgemental, just curious.

I work in a supermarket, it's very rare to see anyone wearing a mask now and I notice them when I do as it's so unusual. I saw 3 people in masks on my 8 hour shift yesterday (2 together, 1 alone) I always wonder if they have covid when they have mask on. I'd maybe consider wearing one if I knew I had it

Well it depends on the mask. The whole my mask protects you so I need you to wear one to protect me schtick has been very popular, but well fitted FFP3s seem to offer a degree of protection to the wearers. I think someone who's particularly worried is being sensible to wear one of those.

I saw a elderly gentleman in sainsburys last week wearing a mask that looked like he'd used it since the beginning of the pandemic, along with a tatty pair of disposable gloves.

Nearly made me cry. This poor old boy, clearly shopping for one, struggling around a busy shop and still frightened.

So sad.

In England almost no one is wearing masks now anywhere -except at the doctors/hospitals where its highly encouraged to prevent the staff getting ill (as so many already off sick)

Well 5000 died of it last month, he's doing his best not to be one of them. As are those of us who care about people like him.

@RadioRouge you misunderstand me. I do think it's sad that he was living his last years in fear of a virus. That we haven't managed to communicate to him how he can protect himself (his mask and gloves wouldn't be doing much), and that he may not have help he may need.

There wasn't even a tinge of sarcasm in my post.