…to expect everyone at the hairdresser’s to be Covid- compliant?

The point of face masks is that, combined with social distancing, they offer protection from droplets. If you are standing close enough to somebody to be covered by their exhaled breath then of course you're at risk.
Face masks are not some kind of magic cloak. They are a tool which, when used with other precautionary measures, help to reduce the risk of infecting other people.

Face masks are not some kind of magic cloak.

Exactly! So why do so many people think they are safe when everyone else has a mask on? They're not.

LilacChaser

*Face masks are not some kind of magic cloak.*

Exactly! So why do so many people think they are safe when everyone else has a mask on? They're not.

They're not 100 per cent safe, but they are much safer than if the other person isn't wearing a mask.

Oh and nice bit of selective quoting there Lila chaser.

Sooze58

Masks are unfortunately false protection unless you’re going to wear an FFP3 one. The majority are just there as show. However, someone taking a lateral flow test is much better for your protection and you cannot see that. I resent wearing a mask that does nothing when I am regularly testing for my job and know I don’t have the virus and am not infectious. You have no idea whether someone has tested or not, so cannot judge someone else for their lack of mask wearing, nor do you know if they are exempt. I’m afraid the only answer is to go elsewhere. Personally I will not live in fear - I am triple jabbed and test regularly.

If you do some research, you can find out how effective the different types of masks are, from the least effective type ie home made two later cotton ones up to five layer medical masks. Even the least effective masks offer some protection for the wearer and for people around them.

I live in Dublin. At the start of the pandemic most people wore cloth masks. Now the vast majority wear surgical ones.
It's about educating yourself and listening to the experts, not just hearing selectively what you want to hear and using that as an excuse to not bother with masks.

Read previous posts, Beswitched - if you saw the droplets/airborne particles coming straight through the mask of the woman in the bird hide you'd have begun to question their use.

I was at the hairdressers last week, only myself and one other client and all masked. The salon has reintroduced track and trace measures again, hand sanitisers and spare masks at the desk. Masks are still mandatory here in Scotland.

Beswitched, yes I do educate myself and keep myself up to date with what is going on with restrictions re Covid. Only last week there was a government report saying the effectiveness of facemasks in schools was inconclusive - reported on in the media. My question is do you ignore reports such as these because they don't fit in with your views, or don't support your arguments. It seems we're all guilty of doing that on here. Nobody says they're open to persuasion either way; we all seem rigid in our opinions. And arguing about it only seems to make people dig their heels in further.

Kalu, masks are mandatory in all four UK nations.

LilacChaser

Read previous posts, Beswitched - if you saw the droplets/airborne particles coming straight through the mask of the woman in the bird hide you'd have begun to question their use.

Maybe read my post again.

LilacChaser

Beswitched, yes I do educate myself and keep myself up to date with what is going on with restrictions re Covid. Only last week there was a government report saying the effectiveness of facemasks in schools was inconclusive - reported on in the media. My question is do you ignore reports such as these because they don't fit in with your views, or don't support your arguments. It seems we're all guilty of doing that on here. Nobody says they're open to persuasion either way; we all seem rigid in our opinions. And arguing about it only seems to make people dig their heels in further.

Kalu, masks are mandatory in all four UK nations.

But surely if you feel the evidence is inconclusive then you would err on the side of caution and wear a mask. Why abandon them when there is a good chance that they are a helpful tool in reducing transmission?

The report said 'inconclusive' and it also said the face masks made 'no discernible difference'.

I just feel people are being misled into thinking that they are keeping themselves and others safe by wearing masks. And what I saw the other day confirmed (to me) that they're not safe. If people feel more comfortable wearing them than not, then fine, but hopefully they won't go out wearing them under the illusion that they will stop others or themselves from contracting Covid.

It's socially irresponsible, surely, to promote their safety?

It said there was inconclusive evidence that wearing them in schools significantly reduced spread, taking into account other variables

It did not say that masks per se do not help reduce spreads. In fact the overwhelming evidence is that they do.

But I've read overwhelming evidence that they don't. And what I saw the other day just confirmed that. However, we're going round in circles here - and we're not going to change each others' minds - so I won't post any more on this thread.

But there isn't 'overwhelming' evidence that they don't . The official advice, from experts, is that mask wearing in conjunction with other measures, helps to reduce the spread.
It's very irresponsible to post on the Internet that people shouldn't bother wearing them.