Face Masks in shops

Maybee70 Yes you are right but quite co-incidental that when I walked to the shop I was talking to a neighbours son and he was going into the shop to buy some masks and he said to me
that people are afraid of the masks because they think you want to rob from them, so I think it is a valid point.

I am going to hate it, and as others have said, l really dread it. But: l do think it's a good thing to do.
The virus is still here with us, and will probably bite quite a few people on the bum, come winter time.
Washable home made ones for me.....

I agree with thecatshat. I will hate having to wear a mask in shops as I am asthmatic and worry about being able to find a breathable one.

Despite that I intend to do so as it's a legal requirement.

I remember the fuss FIL made when seat belts in cars became compulsory. He refused to wear one and when he wanted DH to give him a lift DH told him that his car insurance would not be valid if he wasn't wearing a seat belt.

I think FIL discovered the same was true about his own car insurance policy so he started wearing one. Shortly afterwards he lost control of his car and smashed it into a wall. The seatbelt saved his life.

So it will be with face masks.....

I've got asthma and manage with a mask. I will rip it off in relief when I get in the car, but wear it religiously in shops or areas where there are other people.

I had to fly a month ago and have a real phobia of flying. The airline's policy was to wear a mask, which I don't mind doing, but my hyperventilating with fear (I know I'm pathetic) combined with a mask was horrible. The steward let me take my mask off for a couple of minutes to calm me down a bit.

I find the disposable ones easier now than the washable cloth one I have. When I lived in China I had an anti pollution mask which was much easier to wear. A lot cooler. I was even able to exercise in it. They cost nigh on £60 now and are impossible to get.

It gets easier. I’ve been wearing masks since lockdown. At first yes, it seems hot and uncomfortable, but you soon get used to it.

Our NHS workers have been wearing full PPE (when they could get it) for hours and hours on end. There is a reason for this, that some people don’t seem to ‘get’. If they don’t witter on about their civil liberties and indeed many have given their lives while helping those infected, then we should take a leaf out of their books.

Just do it! Besides it is compulsory now. Or stay at home. Your choice.

For anyone who has problems with glasses fogging if you are worried about damaging the lenses with soap. Fold up a tissue, place it under the mask just over the bridge of your nose, it absorbs the moisture and I found it really helps.

At the beginning of the shut down in March I had to see my new Dr. & was told to wear a mask. I was taken to his room by the secretary, also masked & the Dr., masked of course, greeted me then gave me a wink. Unexpected ( years since I've had a wink ) but it relaxed me. Perhaps a wink, instead of a smile, could be the new way forward?

I'm glad it's the rule now (too little, too late, as always) and nobody should mind wearing one if everybody has to.

Will we ever have real quarantine, I wonder? In NZ, it's two weeks in a hotel, supervised.

I found the foggy glasses a pest in the early days. But with trial and error I’ve fixed that by wearing the top tip of the mask on the bridge of my nose and wearing the glasses lower down my nose than normal.

Masks on a shopping trip are a small inconvenience to help keep each other safe. Hopefully in turn that might reduce the numbers who will end up requiring the care of NHS staff who have to wear heavy duty masks and full body PPE for the duration of a 12 hour shift.

I hope all staff in shops will be wearing them as well. I went in a shop yesterday for a very quick purchase, without wearing my mask, but I wish I had put it on as a staff member sneezed right in front of me and I had to pass by her as there was no other way out. She was not wearing one.
I'm now starting to worry if I've caught something. It's certainly taught me a lesson that however quick I'm going to be , to always put the mask on.

With regard to the glasses steaming up problem I saw a tip on t'interweb that if you fold up a tissue along the line of the mask over the nose it will absorb the moisture and glasses remain unsteamed. Throw the tissue away after use.

Diggingd. I understand that staff will not have to wear them.

I have a comfortable home made mask. Hate wearing it but of course I will. Think the fine for non-compliance should be much higher than £100. However, this will certainly be counter productive in the Govt's grand scheme of getting us back out there spending. I will certainly do shops to a minimum. No more pleasant browsing for me. Furthermore, my regular lovely journeys in buses and trains are a no, no. The very thought of being masked for either an hour or four hours leaves me cold. I'm about to go online and investigate bulk purchases of disposable masks. I've seen eBay mentioned on here. Any other economic suggestions would be really appreciated.

I agree Dancinjay. Face masks seem to be the thin end of a wedge of lost rights and liberties as well as being wholly unpleasant to wear and look at. One simply cannot ‘read’ another person if their face is covered.

The justification for them is that others wearing them will tempt the timid back into public life and into shops. I suspect that this thinking is suspect and that the horrible and intimidating sight of a public masked like bandits will deter more than it encourages.

Strangely, for all the enthusiasm for masks, I saw none in worn in two popular seaside towns this morning and wonder whether mask wearing will be more honoured in the breach than the observance. Where are all the police officers who will be doing the £100 fining?

I would rather lose my liberty than my life. I'm shielding and I will do what it takes to stay safe.

My consultant told me that I could never imagine how horrendous it would be to catch Covid with my comorbidities and to take every precaution possible. His words were that the virus is still out there and there is every chance of another major outbreak because people think it won't happen to them and ignore the guidelines.

I have chronic lung disease and struggle to breathe at times, but that will not stop me wearing a mask, if it helps to keep me safe. Just as it did at my urgent hospital appointment a few weeks ago.

Kim19, Amazon are selling fifty disposable masks for £9.99 and my friend bought a pack of three from Asda for £5.99.

Thanks, Marydoll. Appreciated.

i wore a mask for the first time on friday as i live in scotland, i have epilepsy and mental health - panic attack problems, but i kept it on till i got to the self service checkout, the lady there always chats to me and the first thing she said when she saw me shaking was get that mask off, the epilepsy seizure had started and i pointed to my bracelet. she put my items through the till and took me to sit down , it is not that i don't want to wear the mask, i was the same in hospital with the oxygen mask- but i will keep trying

Kim, my mistake four for £2.80 at Asda! A bargain.

I bought a pack of 50 from Amazon last week for £6.09, and free postage.

Oh dear! DH bought 4 packs of 20 for a whopping £60 from Boots..........

Shop workers are at a high level of risk. Why wouldn't you want to do anything you could to reduce that risk?

How many people have a genuine medical reason for not wearing a mask? And is that reason more severe than the effects of COVID-19? I have an ileostomy and I remember a fuss in the "ostomy" community when seat belts were made compulsory. Didn't we have a reason not to wear one? As the belt came across the body, might it not crush the stoma? This went on until the Ileostomy Association pointed out that a damaged stoma was nothing compared to going through a windscreen and fracturing your skull on the road. That ended the debate.

Of course, in that case, the greater danger was to ourselves. I can't help wondering if some people are reluctant to wear masks because the aim is to protect other people, rather than themselves. I think this is why many Americans struggle with it. They don't accept the idea of making sacrifices for others, hence their resistance to a tax-funded health care system.

In the USA, the virus has been heavily politicised, with resistance to the lockdown, mask-wearing, etc vociferously opposed by right wing Republicans. Apparently some Tories are cutting up their party membership cards in response to the face mask announcement. Let's hope that common sense prevails.

Kate51 thank for the tip about using a tissue under the top of the mask to stop glasses fogging! I will tell the opticians when I pick up my new glasses tomorrow as it was a real issue when having my eyes tested as really couldn’t see anything though the test specs - so had to remove the mask at his request. I hasten to add he was in full PPE mask and visor.

My husband is still shielding,he has COPD and previous lung cancer but may be exempt from wearing a mask because very bad breathing problems, however may give it a go if we go for his permitted walk a day,but in fact can’t go into a shop yet because of shielding rules, or anyone’s house other than ours.

Surely those with a valid medical reason to exempt them from mask wearing should be issued with a badge to avoid being challenged.

It's about a week since I was last in Aldi, but when I went there a short time ago, at least twice as many people were wearing masks than wore them last week. Including me.