From the random box of covid restrictions we now get....

[WaxOnFeckOff]

Facemasks in shops.

I mean really, what is the point now? If they were useful then the time when they were useful was months ago.

Surely the chance of catching covid in a shop is minute, the chance of then being ill is more minute and the chance of dying is vastly remote.

It just feels like it another thing to say just to keep control? I have no problem doing things that make sense and protect others, but really? Public transport where you may be in the vicinity of someone for longer seems fair enough but shops doesn't make sense.

IME so far, having a mask dangling from your neck without even being worn seems to give people carte blanche to stand less than a foot away from others.

It's not random. It's to mitigate the increased risks from reduced social distancing. It's not hard to grasp

My understanding is that since you restrict distancing to 1m in SOME shops (which ones), you have this extra protection in place.
I am not clear about whether that applies to ALL shops or not.
Personally, I have never worn it and in the supermarkets in my area no staff does. I go shopping between 7 and 9 pm and the supermarket is always deserted, so...

@WaxOnFeckOff I agree, there is an element of social control being introduced via this type of thing. It’s worrying.

@SurfnTerfFantasticmissfoxy, well, it is pretty much random. She has to say something, so she's come up with this. She could have said 1m distancing (which is what a lot of people do, if not even less distancing) and be done with it.

not sure about today's figures, but we were under 50 active cases in the community of 5.4 million people so I think the risk is over exaggerated which is my point. When there were thousands of active cases (or more since testing wasn't available) there was no need for masks but at the moment there is more chances of getting pregnant from a toilet seat.

25 active cases in community today

www.travellingtabby.com/scotland-coronavirus-tracker/

@WaxOnFeckOff, 5 new cases today (where is the outbreak in Dumfries? It says fewer than 5 cases).
Currently 9 in IC.

Exactly Arkadia. I think local restrictions will be on the cards as and when required and this is fine and appropriate, the masks thing is just pretty random and not backed up by any evidence. More people have been in shops but the numbers are dropping.

@WaxOnFeckOff, where did you get 25?
(I looked at the government website).

457 active and 432 in hospital, leaves 25 in the community unless I'm reading it wrong.

I would like to know how much the D&G cases have added to community cases over the past week or so.

@WaxOnFeckOff

I agree. I think it the rules are becoming more arbitrary and contradictory as time goes on.

So my DS can play outside with other children without social distancing but is expected to put a mask on if he comes into a supermarket. Why are under 11s included if children are not spreaders?

I would like to know

• has the science / rationale behind the latest decision on face-masks been published?
• has a list of those who can claim exemption been published? does obstructing / interfering with vision constitute a valid reason?
• how can I make my anti-mask wearing views known? I don't recall any public consultation on this one issue?

It is beyond stupid now. Research shows that people who are asymptomatic are less likely to be a risk for transmutation, people with symptoms should be home, hospitals and care homes are much bigger sources of infection.
And people can go into pubs / restaurants without facemasks where there is much more likelihood of transmission

Enforcing the 2m rule would be so much more effective.

So for me - that's it now. I have officially have had no intention of following Nicola's arbitrary rules any more - I don't give a flying fuck about going shopping but I will be going inside to visit my parents and no longer sitting outside in the rain.

The SNP has lost all credibility as far as I am concerned

@pigoons, unless I am mistaken, no masks for kids.

They made a HUGE deal if explaining how masks were BOT required when the virus was at its peak.

They are now saying teachers don’t need them to be in an enclosed classroom with up to 33 children.

However you DO need them in public transportation (as you could be in an enclosed space with someone with 15 mins or more). But is that the case in shops? I certainly don’t linger ESP with all these infuriating one way systems in place.

If the current figures are to believed then this entire situation seems ridiculous.

NOT (not BOT!)

“They made a HUGE deal if explaining how masks were BOT required when the virus was at its peak.”

They’ve been advising using them since April...

“I mean really, what is the point now? If they were useful then the time when they were useful was months ago.”

For months they’ve been saying to wear them in shops, it’s not compulsory yet but we might make them compulsory if people don’t wear them... from what I see people aren’t wearing them...so...

I would love MNers to report back just how the masks are worn -- do you see perfect never touch never move it behaviour, or do people put it on lopsided, fiddle and touch, and then shove it out/in their pocket each time they pop in and out of shops.

My guess is that perfect wearers will be a tiny minority. Maybe perfect practice is completely unnecessary to get lots of group protection, though. Street scenes in far East everyone seems to wear their mask perfectly.

I am not happy about wearing a face covering and agree with the OP - people don their magic mask of invulnerability and social distancing goes out the window. That's if they wear it properly - most people I see seem to think it's a chin hammock.

1 new infection in my council area over the last 7 days. If they wanted to do the mask thing, it should have been in March, where far more people were out and about, no social distancing and much higher levels of the virus.

But still. Great way of proving how different and special Scotland is, and what a fabulous job Saint Nicola the glorious leader is doing of keeping us all SAFE.

(While at the same time glossing over 50% of deaths in care homes and the Nike fuck up).

It's hardly random It's already the rule in most of Europe and seems to be working well.

Surely if social distancing is being reduced to 1 metre bringing in use if masks is sensible?

I need to get better masks. I bought fabric ones and they keep falling off my ears, plus they make me feel claustrophobic and will put me off boosting the economy by doing any non essential shopping. But hey ho if it gets us back to a version of normal - that's old normal not new normal - then I'll wear mine when required.

I'll never understand the utter disdain for NS on here though I think a lot of it is pure snobbery.

Scotland has the number of deaths per day right down, we're doing well. Of course there were mistakes at the beginning but we are doing well now. Yet some on mn love giving the snp and the FM a kicking. Maybe if NS spoke in a cut glass accent you'd like her more.

But you don't, Rookiemere. If you find masks unbearable - and lots of us do - then you use something else. A snood. A woolly scarf or a silk scarf.

The thing that pisses me off about this is that it will spark off another round of dementoring - people who are deaf or have breathing issues will have people hissing at them in the supermarket because they're not wearing a mask. Shop assistants on minimum wage will be expected to police it. When I go back to volunteering in a charity shop am I going to be expected to wear a mask for 4 hours continuously? And refuse entry to some big scary bloke who doesn't have a face covering?

As if.

In Italy (and elsewhere) we have had this rule for ages and I have never heard as much complaining about it as there is on MN!

@ssd, ehm, have you been to a supermarket of late? I always go in the evening, so no queue, still, people get pretty cosy.
In my area hardly anyone wear masks, still, new infections in single digits for quite some time. At the moment there are fewer than 5 people in hospital, no new cases for at least 2 days, so, really, what are we talking about, except political posturing?