Push for masks to be reintroduced

[GerardusMercator]

Over the last few days I've noticed a big push in media to get masks back on the agenda. A brief foray into twitter and flick through a few Covid threads here, and I've seen all the old pandemic era versions of 'it's no hardship to mask'/ your selfish if you don't want to mask etc start to creep back in.

How many of you are-

1. Still masking now
2. Will mask if it becomes guidance
3. Will mask if it becomes law
4. Will not mask again under any circumstances

I really struggled with masks and don't believe they make a great deal of difference (covid theatre) so would be somewhere between a 3 and 4.

4 This is why everyone is so ill this winter. Completely broken immune systems.

Between 2 and 3.

I was not particularly anti mask (although didn't enjoy wearing one), but I'd like to see some honesty around the downsides as well as benefits of mask-wearing. I think it is disconcerting for young children, for some older children (and adults) with learning difficulties, and bloody impossible for people who rely on lipreading. I'm sure there are others I've left out too.

I often had to pull down my mask so my toddler could see my whole face, especially when I was managing undesirable behaviour. I think she found it harder to understand and meet my expectations with such a key part of my face hidden from view. Not the end of the world of course, but doesn't leave me wanting to wear a mask again 'because why not?'. Humans are social, we want to see each other's faces when interacting.

Proper fitted mask wearing? And if the gov and others want to use the 'benefit of others' reasoning again, they need to do it from a different angle than the 'granny killing, evil, selfish, you want people to DIE just so you can work/not lose your house/see your family etc' of last time.

I will follow the government's example during the crisis and do what I like when I like,party hard.

I will never wear a mask again.

Snap. Mine's the I AM EXEMPT notice (which I sincerely hope I didn't bin).

4 will never wear one again unless required in a medical setting

It's window dressing, it would be far better for people to be encouraged and able (financially) to stay at home when ill. The government already had this opportunity when lifting restrictions, and they didn't want to do it.

General population mask wearing is an unhelpful distraction in my opinion, setting specific mask wearing because of an assessed risk - absolutely! But the free PPE for most care settings ends in March, I think the plan was to wean us off PPE,not double down!

Likely between 3 and 4. I didn't like wearing them before, but did so where I had to. Stopped as soon as I could.

One of the main reason I don't agree with the reintroduction of masks is that they haven't offered the most recent booster to all. I think that would be a worthwhile thing to do as well and until they do everything they can with regard to getting people boosters, they can't justify controlling people with masks again. I don't think it's justified anyway. I saw something the other day about uptake of the booster being really low amongst over 50s in Somerset. I think that now over 50s have had plenty of time to get a booster they should widen it out to anyone who may want it.

I'm 4. No way am I going back to masks.

I work in a hospital so have no choice but to wear one then, which is bad enough. There's no way I'm ever wearing one again in a shop or anywhere like that.

Funny as I went to my doctors surgery last week, I checked in and the receptionist said 'can I ask you to put a mask on please' (as it's guidance but not mandatory).

I said no sorry. She didn't seem happy but not much she can do. The strangest thing was, she didn't have one on! Bit hypocritical. Actually none of the people behind the desk did.

Unless its the law for everyone to wear a mask I wont be wearing one.

2

I am masking in places that require it - the GP surgery or the dentist, for example, but not elsewhere. If it was made compulsory again, I would wear a mask wherever I was told to.

But I am lucky in that I rarely go anywhere - my only regular outing is knitting group once a week, and if I had to wear a mask to attend that, it would be worth it - but if compulsory masks came back in, I can see how that would have a much greater impact on most people.

Somewhere between 1&2. I wear them if i have a lingering cold and still need to go out, and have added then to the shopping list as I'm tempted to start wearing them in crowded places and shops again.

4, unless it’s in a hospital maybe if I’m asked nicely, although I honestly don’t believe they do any good except like you say covid theatre. I didn’t wear one before, they make me feel panicky and I refused to let my toddler think it was normal to see me with half my face covered every time out in a shop etc. they have so many downsides that were never spoken about, and the evidence for them being effective is extremely weak. The surgeon argument is invalid, surgeons wear them to protect their face from splashes of bodily fluid, not to “stop” a virus spreading.

We haven’t stopped mask wearing in busy places. I’ve never had Covid, to my knowledge (test if I have symptoms, still). I don’t really care what other people do, though, because we’re all fully vaccinated.

There are such extremes on both sides of the argument. It’s unnecessary.

I will wear a mask if I'm not well and I have to be out in a crowded space. I will only wear one otherwise if it becomes the law.

I’ve been told to start wearing masks again at work ( I begrudgingly do). Patients aren’t which annoys me just a little. Work for the nhs

I only wear a mask in a hospital now but probably would if it were guidance and definately if it were law.

I am still masking in public shared spaces, there's a huge amount of evidence that it reduces transmission. I wear disposable FFP2 masks (or FFP3 if I feel it's a riskier environment).

My husband has Stage 4 cancer, we need to take every precaution that we can.

All of the crap we heard about "shield the vulnerable", what does that actually mean to families like mine? My children are crammed into schools with people openly sending children in with Covid, my husband attends medical appointments where buildings are not ventilated and nobody is wearing masks.

There's lots that could easily be done to reduce spread without impacting "normal" life. Mask wearing has been made political like many other aspects of public health.

I wear one where asked in medical settings and care home .
I would wear one on public transport if it was crowded . Considered wearing one in local shopping centre recently given that every other person seemed to be coughing - not done so yet but may in future .
If I was unwell I would stay at home but appreciate I am lucky in being able to do this .

I wish people would have the courtesy to wear a mask when they are ill.

I work in retail, and a few weeks ago had a customer coughing everywhere, not evening covering their mouth and predictably I then spent Christmas with covid.

Everyone else I know who works in retail are getting hammered by colds/flu/covid. People seem to have thrown basic hygiene away with the masks. I wouldn't support mask wearing across the board, but I think there should be a campaign reminding people to keep their nasty germs to themselves.

4

I am never putting myself through that again

Argh please don't use mask as a verb!! 😱

I wear a mask on public transport, most shops and crowded public places and in medical settings, whyever not? There’s a lot of Covid and other respiratory disease about.