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.

Dinosaur - DS2 had that or something very similar - it was a chesty cough though so we presumed not covid. DH and I had it mid March we believe, DS1 no symptoms but at age 19 we presume he had it with no symptoms. We dashed up and brought DS2 home from Uni in the early hours of day 1 lockdown, he was fine when collected and by that point DH and I were not quarantined so when he got this bug a few weeks later we had no idea where he'd got it as he hadn't left the house.

I really hope you start to feel better soon and appreciate how difficult this is for people. As far as a mask goes are you sure you don't have a scarf or even just a bit of cloth you can use if you feel you need? Maybe something familiar will be easier to cope with?

no worries @TheMurk - Even when I thought it was for me I didn't take it as offensive :)

I just wish everyone would wear one in confined spaces and supermarkets but still soc distance as much as poss. Obviously if someone finds it difficult to breathe that's understable. Surely though if you're in that category then you should be shielding?

Surely though if you're in that category then you should be shielding?

Depends. My breathing difficulties with masks are caused by panic and flashbacks to being suffocated into submission by a man who hurt me very badly. PTSD is not on the shielding list.

Masks should have been made mandatory weeks ago. Bringing them in now is, in my opinion, to give people confidence to start venturing out again, specifically the elderly who are not shielding but have been strictly quarantining. I’ve worked throughout (funeral Directors) so I’ve seen 1st hand the impact which has, I admit, skewed my viewpoint somewhat, so I don’t mind wearing a mask if it makes others more comfortable around me.
I ventured to the shops yesterday with my daughter, all small independent shops, and they all had sanitiser, masks and some had gloves. Did it make me feel anxious, no. Was I fed up sanitising my hands every 10 minutes, yes! However, speaking to many of the shop assistants, they were still feeling anxious and nervous dealing with the public as they had only been open a few days so, again, in a tiny shop, if it makes the shop assistant feel more secure, then I think it is an inconvenience I can live with. There are many other things I could get irate about, I don’t feel this is one of them.

I've not been near any shops other than the Supermarket and no intention really either. I've been doing one big shop and a small top up per week, self scan for big shop. I'd be more amenable to wearing one in a small local shop if it meant that more people were able to get in and shop at a time - even though I personally don't think there is any risk. If it cut down queues and meant I could actually look about rather than just having to take what I can see quickly and get out to allow someone else in.

But I haven’t advocated “not taking any measures”. I’m still not convinced that as things currently stand face coverings are gong to do any good.

It seems like many believe that wearing masks would allow everyone to do everything close to normal.

I dunno how protective masks are, but places where they are mandated -- did many other measures too. Not back to normal at all. Just a little piece of the puzzle.

Absolutely nobody (except ssd and about 7 other people) have been following the rules

To be fair, I think most people have been following the BIG rules. Most people I know who can work from home, are working from home. The station car park by me is usually full by 7am on a weekday - you can get a space at any time now as so many people are working at home. Nobody I know has been having house parties inside. All local businesses are complying by either closing or offering takeaway - no illicit pub lock ins. We've not had friends inside the house.

But the little stuff - yes we've broken Nicola's arbitrary rules. We've been more than 5 miles for leisure right through. DH has been out for pointless drives in his car. For the last few weeks the teenagers have been out and about with friends from multiple households outside, probably not socially distancing.

Also I don't define a supermarket as a "confined space". Most are huge, loads of space. A confined space is a lift, or a tiny shop where you have to squeeze past other customers.

Just had a thought watching the BBC news this morning about hairdressers in England opening. Would those plastic visors count as face coverings?

Personally, I would find one of those a LOT easier to wear than fabric over my mouth and nose which is so claustrophobic. And for people who are hard of hearing, you can see the other person's lips.

Visors are perfectly fine (for me. don't know about other disabilities)

I would much prefer this from shops and hairdressers.

DH has just gone to do our weekly shop, with his mask. I'm staying at home, as I have done most of this lockdown

I agree with @SockYarn re doing the BIG things.

Well I'm just back from the big supermarket. The place was virtually empty (apart from the pickers and other staff). There were 2 shoppers in masks out of about 15-18. Two women entered the shop wearing a mask and a snood type thing. Within 5 paces the one wearing the snood had touched her snood / face at least 5 times to adjust it (glasses wearer). I really don't see how this is better than no mask if it is possible to SD. The staff are hoping against hope they don't have to wear a mask for 8 hour shifts. And to make it worse the SGov website says (3 July publication)

The evidence on the use of face coverings remains limited but supports their use in certain circumstances. Some people can have the virus but have no symptoms (asymptomatic infection) or have a period where they are infectious before they show coronavirus symptoms (presymptomatic infection). Wearing a face covering where 2 metre distancing is not possible (as described in this guidance) may provide some level of protection against transmission to other people in close proximity, especially for those who may be more at risk.

Lots of may provides and no link to compelling evidence as far as I can see ...

Those who are saying "making masks mandatory now is pointless, why weren't they mandatory before" - it's because we were in stricter lockdown before. There were (supposed to be) far fewer people out at any given time. The rules are being relaxed a bit, with more shops open and people being allowed to travel further (and therefore more risk of infected people in your area who weren't there before), and therefore masks are now being made mandatory.

Those who are angry about being required to wear a mask "because of wee nippy" or simply because it's an SNP government or because they think it's just control-freakery - I don't understand you at all. Do you watch the news? Do you see places being made to go back into lockdown again, all over the world? If wearing a face covering can help the situation in any way, I don't understand the fury. Obviously people who will be distressed by wearing one, fair enough, and there are exemptions.

Maybe we should have a sign that people who are exempt can use - a ribbon or badge of some colour, so that people won't approach people to interrogate them, or something. Because there will always be the busybodies.

There's definitely a market for masks that let folks with glasses wear them without your specs steaming up. I've tried the top tips.. Rub the lens with fairy liquid / fabric conditioner etc then dry, it doesn't help. When I go into shops with a mask on it steams up immediately, it's a bloody pest. I don't know how NHS workers manage 😳

I keep meaning to try making nose wires for my home made masks. At the moment I'm just not wearing my glasses - I walk to the supermarket with the mask on and take it off when I get home. Thankfully eyesight is not too bad close up so can shop ok.

What I find really bizarre on this thread is the people who think masks are only an SNP policy - they're common in lots of other countries and in England they're compulsory in public transport. They've been recommended in shops for weeks - lots of people haven't been wearing them so now as people are expected to be in shops more they're making it compulsory. It's already been stated shop workers are not expected to be enforcing it. I'd hope that those who can wear them do.

Those who are saying "making masks mandatory now is pointless, why weren't they mandatory before" - it's because we were in stricter lockdown before.

But we weren’t in stricter lockdown before 23 March when people were piling into supermarkets with no SD and the virus was much more widespread. That’s when they should have been made mandatory, not now when it’s taking a sledgehammer to crack a walnut.

I don’t mind wearing one if there’s a point to it but not to stop passing on a virus virtually no one has any more.!

There's definitely a market for masks that let folks with glasses wear them without your specs steaming up.

Do you have one with wire in it? Dh's doesn't steam his glasses up so there are some out there.

I still think mask wearing should be a choice based on the assessment of the situation.

There is so little evidence that masks make a difference except when SD impossible. I have managed quite well going into Boots for the last 3 months to pick up prescriptions and SD as only two people allowed in at a time. I wouldn't go in if the shop was heaving, even if people were wearing masks, because masks aren't terribly effective.

I didn't know they came with wire, I was going to buy some surgical tape to tape it to my face.. I'll look on amazon for wired ones

Fizzfan, virtually nobody has the virus any more in Scotland maybe - but easing up on lockdown travel rules means people who may have the virus may from now on be in your shops and supermarkets etc. The virus has been suppressed, not eliminated.

I’ve just been reading the guidance on face coverings here and it says face visors are acceptable if they cover the nose and mouth so I’ll be doing that. Like others, I feel a bit smothered with something wrapped around my nose and mouth and it would make daily life very unpleasant. It also suggests that extreme anxiety will be an acceptable reason not to wear one, for the PP suffering from PTSD, although that doesn’t stop the issue of busy-bodies sticking their noses in. I think it’s over the top personally given where we are in the epidemic, but if I can wear a visor that doesn’t obstruct my breathing or vision and allows me to communicate easily, then I’ll put up with it to get a few more freedoms back.

Agree. And if I have to wear one in a shop when I'm volunteering, a visor is much more wearable for longer periods.

It's awful that people who can't wear a face covering for genuine reasons feel they have to explain themselves to strangers. None of their business, yet everyone feels they have the right to stick their oar in.

Just been to my Morrison's. It was hardly, busy, but not deserted either. No queue outside.
I have counted 7 people with masks (2 couples and 3 singles). Not sure how many people there were... 30-40 I suppose. No staff wore them.
This is going to be the next infection hotspot. Mark my words.

This is going to be the next infection hotspot. Mark my words.

Why? it's not been a hotspot up until now, plenty of folk been in with no masks when it's been busier than that.

I usually go to a big Sainsburys, depending on when I'm able to go (I work FT and try to avoid weekends) sometimes I've had to queue and sometimes not. I reckon there are probably up to a couple of hundred folk in when it's busy - I could count on one hand the number of masks worn. none by staff.