I’m very surprised with the level of compliance shown with the wearing of face coverings. I’ve seen 90% compliance on the few occasions I’ve shopped or used public transport.
This is proven by the comments on this thread. I’m also surprised that only a few have actually questioned the wearing of face coverings.
Can anyone point me to any actual scientific evidence that proves that the wearing of a piece of fabric over the mouth & nose is proven to lower the risk of contracting/spreading C19?
Back in March/April both Boris and Whitty confirmed there is little evidence face coverings makes any difference. The WHO said exactly the same.
Then, when the curve had already flattened and the death rate had plummeted the govt introduce compulsory face coverings. Why? It is really about safety, when that is unproven? Or is it about compliance??
The public are making the governments job very easy by complying and not questioning this law. Next time they consider introducing a repressive law it won’t be given a second thought, they will crack on because the public have proven to be broadly compliant .
I wore a mask for a supermarket visit on the first day of compulsion on holiday in the Lake District, a place I’ve always found to be one of the friendliest places on the planet. Strangers wish you a good morning, they smile and start conversations, strangers actually chat to you in pubs. In that supermarket everyone walked around in a zombie state, obviously no smiles, no chit chat, people just existing under this form of repression.
I will only shop now if absolutely necessary, usually late in the evening when there are few others around. I give everyone a wide berth so they hopefully do not feel threatened by my smile.
Its very sad to read that people here with obvious medical conditions are feeling inclined to wear a mask purely to avoid being risking public shaming by the morality police.
At the beginning of the pandemic we didn't have enough face masks, that is why it wasn't made mandatory.
Those of us who are complying, do so as they know it is for the protection of everyone else. It is in everyone's interest to do everything they can to stop the spread of the virus. Those not complying with the rules are extremely selfish. If everyone complied with the rules, then we may be able to get back to some thing like normality that much quicker.
You really don't like being told what to do, do you.
There was always a simple solution to this. Non medical face masks should have been made mandatory. Medical face masks should have been reserved for hospital, care home settings. The principle of how these masks has always been different and recent science has backed up that non medical face coverings work. It is now widely accepted that larger droplets are a major cause of transmission. All face coverings are effective in preventing them. Testing using high speed video found that hundreds of droplets ranging from 20 to 500 micrometers were generated when saying a simple phrase, but that nearly all these droplets were blocked when the mouth was covered. This should be good enough for us to use face masks. Even a football scarf tied around our nose and mouth would do. I think it should not be above the wit of man to design a face covering that is comfortable for the currently medically exempt group. I think a heavier cotton mask that is fixed above the nose and not pulled to the face would work and allow normal breathing from below the material.
I’m very surprised with the level of compliance shown with the wearing of face coverings. I’ve seen 90% compliance on the few occasions I’ve shopped or used public transport.
This is proven by the comments on this thread. I’m also surprised that only a few have actually questioned the wearing of face coverings.
Can anyone point me to any actual scientific evidence that proves that the wearing of a piece of fabric over the mouth & nose is proven to lower the risk of contracting/spreading C19?
Back in March/April both Boris and Whitty confirmed there is little evidence face coverings makes any difference. The WHO said exactly the same.
Then, when the curve had already flattened and the death rate had plummeted the govt introduce compulsory face coverings. Why? It is really about safety, when that is unproven? Or is it about compliance??
The public are making the governments job very easy by complying and not questioning this law. Next time they consider introducing a repressive law it won’t be given a second thought, they will crack on because the public have proven to be broadly compliant .
I wore a mask for a supermarket visit on the first day of compulsion on holiday in the Lake District, a place I’ve always found to be one of the friendliest places on the planet. Strangers wish you a good morning, they smile and start conversations, strangers actually chat to you in pubs. In that supermarket everyone walked around in a zombie state, obviously no smiles, no chit chat, people just existing under this form of repression.
I will only shop now if absolutely necessary, usually late in the evening when there are few others around. I give everyone a wide berth so they hopefully do not feel threatened by my smile.
Its very sad to read that people here with obvious medical conditions are feeling inclined to wear a mask purely to avoid being risking public shaming by the morality police.
At the beginning of the pandemic we didn't have enough face masks, that is why it wasn't made mandatory.
Those of us who are complying, do so as they know it is for the protection of everyone else. It is in everyone's interest to do everything they can to stop the spread of the virus. Those not complying with the rules are extremely selfish. If everyone complied with the rules, then we may be able to get back to some thing like normality that much quicker.
You really don't like being told what to do, do you.
The problem which I have is I don’t know what metric I am meant to be reviewing this against. Their were more death by suicides than last week than killed by Covid. Hospital are almost empty. We are getting just under 2k positive tests when they are testing almost 180k per day.
What metric are we working towards for us to return to normal? Would be nice for the government to spell out their plans past November. I imagine we are in a holding until a vaccine comes which most people under 40 won’t take.
We print custom dog bandanas and I have just made one you can breath normally using a large one of these. Tied up around the head from the top and held up by the ears, it covers the face. You can cough and blow and not move it and you can even drink through a straw wearing it. I'm sure somebody who put more than 5 minutes thought into it could do even better.
I’m very surprised with the level of compliance shown with the wearing of face coverings. I’ve seen 90% compliance on the few occasions I’ve shopped or used public transport.
This is proven by the comments on this thread. I’m also surprised that only a few have actually questioned the wearing of face coverings.
Can anyone point me to any actual scientific evidence that proves that the wearing of a piece of fabric over the mouth & nose is proven to lower the risk of contracting/spreading C19?
Back in March/April both Boris and Whitty confirmed there is little evidence face coverings makes any difference. The WHO said exactly the same.
Then, when the curve had already flattened and the death rate had plummeted the govt introduce compulsory face coverings. Why? It is really about safety, when that is unproven? Or is it about compliance??
The public are making the governments job very easy by complying and not questioning this law. Next time they consider introducing a repressive law it won’t be given a second thought, they will crack on because the public have proven to be broadly compliant .
I wore a mask for a supermarket visit on the first day of compulsion on holiday in the Lake District, a place I’ve always found to be one of the friendliest places on the planet. Strangers wish you a good morning, they smile and start conversations, strangers actually chat to you in pubs. In that supermarket everyone walked around in a zombie state, obviously no smiles, no chit chat, people just existing under this form of repression.
I will only shop now if absolutely necessary, usually late in the evening when there are few others around. I give everyone a wide berth so they hopefully do not feel threatened by my smile.
Its very sad to read that people here with obvious medical conditions are feeling inclined to wear a mask purely to avoid being risking public shaming by the morality police.
At the beginning of the pandemic we didn't have enough face masks, that is why it wasn't made mandatory.
Those of us who are complying, do so as they know it is for the protection of everyone else. It is in everyone's interest to do everything they can to stop the spread of the virus. Those not complying with the rules are extremely selfish. If everyone complied with the rules, then we may be able to get back to some thing like normality that much quicker.
You really don't like being told what to do, do you.
The problem which I have is I don’t know what metric I am meant to be reviewing this against. Their were more death by suicides than last week than killed by Covid. Hospital are almost empty. We are getting just under 2k positive tests when they are testing almost 180k per day.
What metric are we working towards for us to return to normal? Would be nice for the government to spell out their plans past November. I imagine we are in a holding until a vaccine comes which most people under 40 won’t take.
I would hope we are looking at what is happening in other countries as we know now the British do not have an genetic immunity. We have to try to return to normality but we have seen how quickly the virus can spread so we need to proceed with care.
Its one of many questions which you aren’t allowed to question or argue. For example, the second wave is meant to be worse than the first wave but all Nightingale hospitals have been taken down.
Not sure the Nightingales have been taken down. Harrogate and Exeter have been repurposed as diagnostic centres but the others have been mothballed on the basis that they could reopen within 48 hours if needed for the second wave. The problem with the Nightingales was that they were not used by the NHS trusts who largely kept the patients affected in their own hospitals rather than undertake the extra bureaucracy that was entailed in sending them to the Nightingales and then receiving those that recovered back before discharge. If, they had shipped the covid cases to the Nightingales the huge NHS backlog that was generated by this (27,000 knee and hip operations alone) might not have arisen. Another aspect was the NHS buying up prvate hospital capacity and the local NHS trusts mostly not using this capacity for the routine operations either. Lots of doctors and nurses not used for Covid (both Private and NHS) basically twiddling their thumbs. Joined up thinking did not happen here. Funnnily enough, now the private hospital contracts have ended, the trusts are sending the backlog to them under pre existing NHS contracts to ddress the backlog. (you couldn't make it up)
In the early days of the NHS when smallpox was still rife, we used to have temporary hospital equivalents down on Dartford Marshes (Long Reach) which would be manned by volunteers and prevent the main NHS hospitals being infected. The current management of the NHS seem to have forgotten to learn from their own history on how to deal with plague and pandemic.
It appears that the strategic thinking of Public Health England and Department of Health senior civil servants was completely Keystone Cops aided and abetted by Local NHS trust heads not listenting to medics rather than bureaucrats. Time to rethink the management of the Health system that let both patients and front line medical staff down.
I’m very surprised with the level of compliance shown with the wearing of face coverings. I’ve seen 90% compliance on the few occasions I’ve shopped or used public transport.
This is proven by the comments on this thread. I’m also surprised that only a few have actually questioned the wearing of face coverings.
Can anyone point me to any actual scientific evidence that proves that the wearing of a piece of fabric over the mouth & nose is proven to lower the risk of contracting/spreading C19?
Back in March/April both Boris and Whitty confirmed there is little evidence face coverings makes any difference. The WHO said exactly the same.
Then, when the curve had already flattened and the death rate had plummeted the govt introduce compulsory face coverings. Why? It is really about safety, when that is unproven? Or is it about compliance??
The public are making the governments job very easy by complying and not questioning this law. Next time they consider introducing a repressive law it won’t be given a second thought, they will crack on because the public have proven to be broadly compliant .
I wore a mask for a supermarket visit on the first day of compulsion on holiday in the Lake District, a place I’ve always found to be one of the friendliest places on the planet. Strangers wish you a good morning, they smile and start conversations, strangers actually chat to you in pubs. In that supermarket everyone walked around in a zombie state, obviously no smiles, no chit chat, people just existing under this form of repression.
I will only shop now if absolutely necessary, usually late in the evening when there are few others around. I give everyone a wide berth so they hopefully do not feel threatened by my smile.
Its very sad to read that people here with obvious medical conditions are feeling inclined to wear a mask purely to avoid being risking public shaming by the morality police.
At the beginning of the pandemic we didn't have enough face masks, that is why it wasn't made mandatory.
Those of us who are complying, do so as they know it is for the protection of everyone else. It is in everyone's interest to do everything they can to stop the spread of the virus. Those not complying with the rules are extremely selfish. If everyone complied with the rules, then we may be able to get back to some thing like normality that much quicker.
You really don't like being told what to do, do you.
The problem which I have is I don’t know what metric I am meant to be reviewing this against. Their were more death by suicides than last week than killed by Covid. Hospital are almost empty. We are getting just under 2k positive tests when they are testing almost 180k per day.
What metric are we working towards for us to return to normal? Would be nice for the government to spell out their plans past November. I imagine we are in a holding until a vaccine comes which most people under 40 won’t take.
Why do you think that most people under 40 won't take the vaccine if/when it comes?
It’s not about the lack of masks, anything goes when it comes to face coverings - cut up t-shirts, handkerchiefs etc.
6 X more people are currently dying of flu/influenza/pneumonia than COVID-19. This has broadly done its thing already and is not hospitalising it’s killing anywhere near the number of people it was. .
I'm entirely happy to follow rules/laws when they are thought out and logical. IMO masks are entirely superfluous.
There was always a simple solution to this. Non medical face masks should have been made mandatory. Medical face masks should have been reserved for hospital, care home settings. The principle of how these masks has always been different and recent science has backed up that non medical face coverings work. It is now widely accepted that larger droplets are a major cause of transmission. All face coverings are effective in preventing them.
Testing using high speed video found that hundreds of droplets ranging from 20 to 500 micrometers were generated when saying a simple phrase, but that nearly all these droplets were blocked when the mouth was covered. This should be good enough for us to use face masks. Even a football scarf tied around our nose and mouth would do. I think it should not be above the wit of man to design a face covering that is comfortable for the currently medically exempt group. I think a heavier cotton mask that is fixed above the nose and not pulled to the face would work and allow normal breathing from below the material.
If face coverings had been mandated at the start I’d have complied, there was so much understandable panic around at the end of March/April
It is the fact that numerous people in authority subsequently clearly stated there was no evidence they make any difference. Then the govt u-turned. Laughable!
Please provide the source of the evidence you mention.
I’m very surprised with the level of compliance shown with the wearing of face coverings. I’ve seen 90% compliance on the few occasions I’ve shopped or used public transport.
This is proven by the comments on this thread. I’m also surprised that only a few have actually questioned the wearing of face coverings.
Can anyone point me to any actual scientific evidence that proves that the wearing of a piece of fabric over the mouth & nose is proven to lower the risk of contracting/spreading C19?
Back in March/April both Boris and Whitty confirmed there is little evidence face coverings makes any difference. The WHO said exactly the same.
Then, when the curve had already flattened and the death rate had plummeted the govt introduce compulsory face coverings. Why? It is really about safety, when that is unproven? Or is it about compliance??
The public are making the governments job very easy by complying and not questioning this law. Next time they consider introducing a repressive law it won’t be given a second thought, they will crack on because the public have proven to be broadly compliant .
I wore a mask for a supermarket visit on the first day of compulsion on holiday in the Lake District, a place I’ve always found to be one of the friendliest places on the planet. Strangers wish you a good morning, they smile and start conversations, strangers actually chat to you in pubs. In that supermarket everyone walked around in a zombie state, obviously no smiles, no chit chat, people just existing under this form of repression.
I will only shop now if absolutely necessary, usually late in the evening when there are few others around. I give everyone a wide berth so they hopefully do not feel threatened by my smile.
Its very sad to read that people here with obvious medical conditions are feeling inclined to wear a mask purely to avoid being risking public shaming by the morality police.
At the beginning of the pandemic we didn't have enough face masks, that is why it wasn't made mandatory.
Those of us who are complying, do so as they know it is for the protection of everyone else. It is in everyone's interest to do everything they can to stop the spread of the virus. Those not complying with the rules are extremely selfish. If everyone complied with the rules, then we may be able to get back to some thing like normality that much quicker.
You really don't like being told what to do, do you.
It's all a load of b@llocks and why I dont listen to the government. Let me get this right, people would of lost their lives and our lives were put at risk when hundreds were dying a few months ago. The advice should of been from March to wear a mask, but as you rightly say the masks weren't available so we was lied to.
There was always a simple solution to this. Non medical face masks should have been made mandatory. Medical face masks should have been reserved for hospital, care home settings. The principle of how these masks has always been different and recent science has backed up that non medical face coverings work. It is now widely accepted that larger droplets are a major cause of transmission. All face coverings are effective in preventing them.
Testing using high speed video found that hundreds of droplets ranging from 20 to 500 micrometers were generated when saying a simple phrase, but that nearly all these droplets were blocked when the mouth was covered. This should be good enough for us to use face masks. Even a football scarf tied around our nose and mouth would do. I think it should not be above the wit of man to design a face covering that is comfortable for the currently medically exempt group. I think a heavier cotton mask that is fixed above the nose and not pulled to the face would work and allow normal breathing from below the material.
If face coverings had been mandated at the start I’d have complied, there was so much understandable panic around at the end of March/April
It is the fact that numerous people in authority subsequently clearly stated there was no evidence they make any difference. Then the govt u-turned. Laughable!
Please provide the source of the evidence you mention.
The source for that info was the British Medical Journal.
People not adhering to social distancing for an organised event. How on earth was permission given for this, when weddings cannot be held for more than 30 people.
In China a shopper is in jail after beating to death another shopper who was unmasked and refused to mask up .. the moral ? .. don't go unmasked in China !!
Absolutely no1 wearing face-masks in wales (big tesco at peak time, also other shops and petrol station) albeit haven't checked what the rules are here.
1. I do not agree with them being obligatory rather than recommended. It should come down to personal choice.
2. I think they lead to an unconscious lessening of social distancing.
I was wearing one in shops in order to keep people off my back. Now that infection rates are increasing but with fewer hospitalisations I'm leaving it off unless someone asks me to put it on. I politely do so stating that it's their unnecessary fear that's obliging me, not mine.
1. I do not agree with them being obligatory rather than recommended. It should come down to personal choice.
2. I think they lead to an unconscious lessening of social distancing.
I was wearing one in shops in order to keep people off my back. Now that infection rates are increasing but with fewer hospitalisations I'm leaving it off unless someone asks me to put it on. I politely do so stating that it's their unnecessary fear that's obliging me, not mine.
I don't judge it is personal opinion whether to wear one or not.
I am certainly not qualified to decide if it is better to wear one or not so I wear one as you have to. Not my call If it turns out it is worse to (and I see the potential in lessening of social distancing) because I was doing what we had to. I certainly don't want to be responsible for doing harm (to anyone) by not doing do.
I think if you nip in somewhere and others wearing a mask it’s fine not to wear a horrible mask.
No it isn't fine, unless you cannot wear a mask for medical reasons. Masks may be horrible but getting Covid-19 is even more horrible.
Masks are not comfortable, only for some are they horrible.
For many people getting Covid-19 is not horrible. My son has proof of having Covid-19, he’s 10 with asthma, as I’ve said before, when he was ill it was very worrying, his temperature was spiking even on massive amounts of paracetamol compared to general guidelines, a huge increase in his asthma meds compared to normal and also the cough which was absolutely continuous only knocked about by using Colis Browne mixture, not recommended by doctors for kids as it’s peppermint and morphine.
despite our worries he didn’t need to go to hospital and after 3 days of serious care at home he started to recover. His cough went after 3 weeks.
he tested positive for antibodies in April. I didn’t having had only the cough and a small temperature spike.
in my view we both have had the virus, my son to the extent he had to produce antibodies to a level that got picked up on the test, me with limited symptoms and probably T-cells battered it for me before getting too ill.
I’m not disputing the need to be careful, we wear masks whenever in any enclosed space even though we think it’s likely we are not going to die from COVID-19. For us wearing masks is about protecting others in case we become latent carriers should we be in contact with the virus again and now more likely to be asymptomatic.
I don’t think this virus is going away, nor do I think a vaccine will be the panacea some make it out to be. The effectiveness of any vaccine long term is in serious doubt with people now testing positive more than once months apart (albeit with virtually no symptoms on the second positive test).
My money would be on ever more effective treatments so that the death rate for this. Resign if corona is the same or lower than the more conversational flu viruses.
1. I do not agree with them being obligatory rather than recommended. It should come down to personal choice.
2. I think they lead to an unconscious lessening of social distancing.
I was wearing one in shops in order to keep people off my back. Now that infection rates are increasing but with fewer hospitalisations I'm leaving it off unless someone asks me to put it on. I politely do so stating that it's their unnecessary fear that's obliging me, not mine.
Seatbelts don't come down to personal choice, do you refuse to wear one of those? I personally don't wear one as I think it's unconsciously leads to more unsafe driving.
1. I do not agree with them being obligatory rather than recommended. It should come down to personal choice.
2. I think they lead to an unconscious lessening of social distancing.
I was wearing one in shops in order to keep people off my back. Now that infection rates are increasing but with fewer hospitalisations I'm leaving it off unless someone asks me to put it on. I politely do so stating that it's their unnecessary fear that's obliging me, not mine.
Seatbelts don't come down to personal choice, do you refuse to wear one of those? I personally don't wear one as I think it's unconsciously leads to more unsafe driving.
Funnily enough I think it is the same attitude and similar people.
Generally not wearing a seat belt only affects you unless you are in the back seat. Other than taking up medial resources etc. That said, it would be a lot worse for those not wearing seat belts if it were not for air bags. Maybe the airbag should be disabled if the seat belt isn't worn properly - I mean properly, not by those who think they are being clever by clicking the seat belt in behind them
today is my second day back in the city and I’ve not been too disappointed with the number of masks being worn (I was worried that a lot more people just wouldn’t bother)
next week I think the trains are going to be a lot busier and can see a few arguments happening as no one wants any sat next to them and no one wants to stand
today is my second day back in the city and I’ve not been too disappointed with the number of masks being worn (I was worried that a lot more people just wouldn’t bother)
next week I think the trains are going to be a lot busier and can see a few arguments happening as no one wants any sat next to them and no one wants to stand
I took the outlook at the start of this pandemic to try not to get too wound up by the selfish tossers in society of which there are plenty from the toilet roll hoarders to the mask refusers (those with genuine medical conditions excluded).
As long as 99% of people are decent and play the game it should mitigate for the self entitled Berkshires who see themselves as above it all.
Been commuting up town for 5 to 6 weeks now and been many a time where I've considered pulling up people for not wearing masks on the train but it's pointless.
You'll either get stabbed or end up on YouTube for repeatedly banging some mouth breather's bonce against the train window and I expect there's a lot of tiresome admin that follows that.
Best just to say nothing and take comfort in the fact those individuals will likely get their come uppance in karmic fashion in time ie get bummed by a pack of stray dogs whilst they're next out on their bike saddle sniffing adventures etc
Or just resort the the time honoured middle class English passive aggressive default of tutting quite loudly and rolling your eyes whilst briefly glancing in numbnut's direction.
1. I do not agree with them being obligatory rather than recommended. It should come down to personal choice.
2. I think they lead to an unconscious lessening of social distancing.
I was wearing one in shops in order to keep people off my back. Now that infection rates are increasing but with fewer hospitalisations I'm leaving it off unless someone asks me to put it on. I politely do so stating that it's their unnecessary fear that's obliging me, not mine.
Seatbelts don't come down to personal choice, do you refuse to wear one of those? I personally don't wear one as I think it's unconsciously leads to more unsafe driving.
It's a fair point. Perhaps seatbelts shouldn't be mandatory.
Lots of people still don't wear them on coaches. They are not even fitted on trains and buses: why is that?
I always wear one. My life has been saved by a seatbelt on at least one occasion. Since then I've been on transport without seatbelts and I'm amazed how carefree people are. On some occasions I'm genuinely concerned for my safety.
As for the mask, I don't believe it makes any difference anyway, in fact it could be making matters worse. I'm quite frankly astounded that so many people are complying.
I wonder if our summer of isolation will leave us open to the affects of flu this winter as our general ability to fight viruses decreases.
You know the thing about how kids who never get to go out and slowly develop immunities end up suffering really badly when they are eventually exposed to something nasty.
Wandering around with a mask all the time just seems to delay the inevitable. Maybe we need to face up to this thing if we're going to beat it?
In France, workers now have to wear masks in shared spaces at work after a big jump in case numbers.
If they did that here I would fight a return to the office. Not doing that all day.
Here in France they are starting to force it outside in public spaces. I am resisting.
There is an increase in infections, probably due to the discarded social distancing, but a decrease in hospitalisations.
What will people do when you have to provide proof of vaccination even to access the school playground to pick up the children? A vaccination which hasn't undergone the two year safety standards. The masks are just the beginning of more and more restrictions to our civil liberties. That is my only fear; the virus has become a side issue.
I keep my distance from others. I have to do door to door prospection for my job, and after knocking on the door, I stand back 2 metres. Mask wearers generally don't do that so I could claim that they are selfish. Normally, if anything, I find that people are approaching me and I'm backing off.
Besides, in claiming that the refusers are passing it on to the wearers, you are basically admitting the inefficiency of a mask.
Sorry to post so many times on this subject, but it comes to something when people accuse others about which there is no proof, and when it concerns a virus: more virulent forms of which have never ever led some to dictate rules on the others in this manner.
I keep my distance from others. I have to do door to door prospection for my job, and after knocking on the door, I stand back 2 metres. Mask wearers generally don't do that so I could claim that they are selfish. Normally, if anything, I find that people are approaching me and I'm backing off.
Besides, in claiming that the refusers are passing it on to the wearers, you are basically admitting the inefficiency of a mask.
Sorry to post so many times on this subject, but it comes to something when people accuse others about which there is no proof, and when it concerns a virus: more virulent forms of which have never ever led some to dictate rules on the others in this manner.
We have never had a worldwide pandemic such as this in most people's lifetime.
It IS selfish to not wear a mask if you don't have a medical reason. It IS selfish not to wear a seat belt. If you have an accident and need the NHS to fix you, it affects far more than just you.
I keep my distance from others. I have to do door to door prospection for my job, and after knocking on the door, I stand back 2 metres. Mask wearers generally don't do that so I could claim that they are selfish. Normally, if anything, I find that people are approaching me and I'm backing off.
Besides, in claiming that the refusers are passing it on to the wearers, you are basically admitting the inefficiency of a mask.
Sorry to post so many times on this subject, but it comes to something when people accuse others about which there is no proof, and when it concerns a virus: more virulent forms of which have never ever led some to dictate rules on the others in this manner.
I'm sorry, but that's total bollocks. A mask prevents you spreading your germs via spittle and exhaled breath. If you don't wear a mask and I'm nearby it gets on my skin, clothes and hair. There is then a transfer risk that it will eventually find it's way into my nose, mouth, ears, eyes, etc. any time during the time the virus is active outside of the host (upto 72 hours), so you not wearing a mask posses an infection risk to every person you meet, and even if masks were 100% effective against all infections they still wouldn't remove that infection risk because you think you know best.
Masks are to stop people who are infected spreading their infection to every surface within 10ft throughout the day. They do little to stop an uninfected person becoming infected, they're not designed for that.
It's quite simple, wearing a mask lowers risk of infecting others. You can make all the justifications you like, but that simply fact is that without a mask you increase the risk that you will infect others. Hopefully you'll never have an infection to spread. At the moment you're the person who refused to buckle up in the backseat because the seatbelt chafes, hopefully the vehicle you're travelling in isn't in an accident where you'll crush the person in front of you to death.
Comments
Suppose we can all get away with wearing our masks under out chins.
Testing using high speed video found that hundreds of droplets ranging from 20 to 500 micrometers were generated when saying a simple phrase, but that nearly all these droplets were blocked when the mouth was covered. This should be good enough for us to use face masks. Even a football scarf tied around our nose and mouth would do. I think it should not be above the wit of man to design a face covering that is comfortable for the currently medically exempt group. I think a heavier cotton mask that is fixed above the nose and not pulled to the face would work and allow normal breathing from below the material.
In the early days of the NHS when smallpox was still rife, we used to have temporary hospital equivalents down on Dartford Marshes (Long Reach) which would be manned by volunteers and prevent the main NHS hospitals being infected. The current management of the NHS seem to have forgotten to learn from their own history on how to deal with plague and pandemic.
It appears that the strategic thinking of Public Health England and Department of Health senior civil servants was completely Keystone Cops aided and abetted by Local NHS trust heads not listenting to medics rather than bureaucrats. Time to rethink the management of the Health system that let both patients and front line medical staff down.
6 X more people are currently dying of flu/influenza/pneumonia than COVID-19. This has broadly done its thing already and is not hospitalising it’s killing anywhere near the number of people it was. .
I'm entirely happy to follow rules/laws when they are thought out and logical. IMO masks are entirely superfluous.
Please provide the source of the evidence you mention.
Let me get this right, people would of lost their lives and our lives were put at risk when hundreds were dying a few months ago.
The advice should of been from March to wear a mask, but as you rightly say the masks weren't available so we was lied to.
https://www.kentonline.co.uk/malling/news/reality-stars-under-fire-over-bars-party-233018/
1. I do not agree with them being obligatory rather than recommended. It should come down to personal choice.
2. I think they lead to an unconscious lessening of social distancing.
I was wearing one in shops in order to keep people off my back. Now that infection rates are increasing but with fewer hospitalisations I'm leaving it off unless someone asks me to put it on. I politely do so stating that it's their unnecessary fear that's obliging me, not mine.
I am certainly not qualified to decide if it is better to wear one or not so I wear one as you have to. Not my call If it turns out it is worse to (and I see the potential in lessening of social distancing) because I was doing what we had to. I certainly don't want to be responsible for doing harm (to anyone) by not doing do.
For many people getting Covid-19 is not horrible. My son has proof of having Covid-19, he’s 10 with asthma, as I’ve said before, when he was ill it was very worrying, his temperature was spiking even on massive amounts of paracetamol compared to general guidelines, a huge increase in his asthma meds compared to normal and also the cough which was absolutely continuous only knocked about by using Colis Browne mixture, not recommended by doctors for kids as it’s peppermint and morphine.
despite our worries he didn’t need to go to hospital and after 3 days of serious care at home he started to recover. His cough went after 3 weeks.
he tested positive for antibodies in April. I didn’t having had only the cough and a small temperature spike.
in my view we both have had the virus, my son to the extent he had to produce antibodies to a level that got picked up on the test, me with limited symptoms and probably T-cells battered it for me before getting too ill.
I’m not disputing the need to be careful, we wear masks whenever in any enclosed space even though we think it’s likely we are not going to die from COVID-19. For us wearing masks is about protecting others in case we become latent carriers should we be in contact with the virus again and now more likely to be asymptomatic.
I don’t think this virus is going away, nor do I think a vaccine will be the panacea some make it out to be. The effectiveness of any vaccine long term is in serious doubt with people now testing positive more than once months apart (albeit with virtually no symptoms on the second positive test).
My money would be on ever more effective treatments so that the death rate for this. Resign if corona is the same or lower than the more conversational flu viruses.
I personally don't wear one as I think it's unconsciously leads to more unsafe driving.
Generally not wearing a seat belt only affects you unless you are in the back seat. Other than taking up medial resources etc. That said, it would be a lot worse for those not wearing seat belts if it were not for air bags. Maybe the airbag should be disabled if the seat belt isn't worn properly - I mean properly, not by those who think they are being clever by clicking the seat belt in behind them
today is my second day back in the city and I’ve not been too disappointed with the number of masks being worn (I was worried that a lot more people just wouldn’t bother)
next week I think the trains are going to be a lot busier and can see a few arguments happening as no one wants any sat next to them and no one wants to stand
As long as 99% of people are decent and play the game it should mitigate for the self entitled Berkshires who see themselves as above it all.
Been commuting up town for 5 to 6 weeks now and been many a time where I've considered pulling up people for not wearing masks on the train but it's pointless.
You'll either get stabbed or end up on YouTube for repeatedly banging some mouth breather's bonce against the train window and I expect there's a lot of tiresome admin that follows that.
Best just to say nothing and take comfort in the fact those individuals will likely get their come uppance in karmic fashion in time ie get bummed by a pack of stray dogs whilst they're next out on their bike saddle sniffing adventures etc
Or just resort the the time honoured middle class English passive aggressive default of tutting quite loudly and rolling your eyes whilst briefly glancing in numbnut's direction.
Lots of people still don't wear them on coaches. They are not even fitted on trains and buses: why is that?
I always wear one. My life has been saved by a seatbelt on at least one occasion. Since then I've been on transport without seatbelts and I'm amazed how carefree people are. On some occasions I'm genuinely concerned for my safety.
As for the mask, I don't believe it makes any difference anyway, in fact it could be making matters worse. I'm quite frankly astounded that so many people are complying.
You know the thing about how kids who never get to go out and slowly develop immunities end up suffering really badly when they are eventually exposed to something nasty.
Wandering around with a mask all the time just seems to delay the inevitable. Maybe we need to face up to this thing if we're going to beat it?
There is an increase in infections, probably due to the discarded social distancing, but a decrease in hospitalisations.
What will people do when you have to provide proof of vaccination even to access the school playground to pick up the children?
A vaccination which hasn't undergone the two year safety standards. The masks are just the beginning of more and more restrictions to our civil liberties. That is my only fear; the virus has become a side issue.
The selfish argument is a non starter.
I keep my distance from others. I have to do door to door prospection for my job, and after knocking on the door, I stand back 2 metres. Mask wearers generally don't do that so I could claim that they are selfish. Normally, if anything, I find that people are approaching me and I'm backing off.
Besides, in claiming that the refusers are passing it on to the wearers, you are basically admitting the inefficiency of a mask.
Sorry to post so many times on this subject, but it comes to something when people accuse others about which there is no proof, and when it concerns a virus: more virulent forms of which have never ever led some to dictate rules on the others in this manner.
It IS selfish to not wear a mask if you don't have a medical reason. It IS selfish not to wear a seat belt. If you have an accident and need the NHS to fix you, it affects far more than just you.
Masks are to stop people who are infected spreading their infection to every surface within 10ft throughout the day. They do little to stop an uninfected person becoming infected, they're not designed for that.
It's quite simple, wearing a mask lowers risk of infecting others. You can make all the justifications you like, but that simply fact is that without a mask you increase the risk that you will infect others. Hopefully you'll never have an infection to spread. At the moment you're the person who refused to buckle up in the backseat because the seatbelt chafes, hopefully the vehicle you're travelling in isn't in an accident where you'll crush the person in front of you to death.