And about time, too!

My sister lives in Spain. As soon as they leave their house they have to wear a mask. There are no exemptions in Spain, you don't get to wear a lanyard or say you have xyz which means you can't wear a mask. You either wear one or you stay at home.

They are strict on the fines too. Any one flouting the rules it is an instant 60 euro fine.

My sister can't believe the amount of non mask wearing that goes on here

Grannytwoshoes why have you singled out smokers??
I am a smoker, I wear a mask when I'm expected to. I'm not really shopping (I'm lucky enough to get deliveries) but I have a Dr's appointment today and I will be wearing a mask when I'm outside.

Witzend

Well, bus drivers around here won’t let anyone on without a mask (or an official lanyard) so I don’t see why the same couldn’t apply to shops.
A big burly bouncer-type at the door would help, though I dare say they don’t all have one of those to spare.

Theres no such thing as an official lanyard though. There are things anyone can print off from the internet.....

Sarnia - short of having armed police enforcing the rules, there will always be those who consider they are above the law and rules are for other people. There have been enough examples of this since the first lockdown period, especially over the Christmas period!! The spread of the virus is not the fault of one person, not even Boris.

In the small town where I live, nearly everyone has a mask on in shops. In our local butcher’s the other day, (only 2 in at a time), the chap in front of me wasn’t wearing a mask. The assistant chatted to him, so I assumed he was a regular.

After he left, I said to her “ Is there a reason why he wasn’t wearing a mask?”

She looked really surprised, and said “ Oh, I didn’t notice he wasn’t!” which I’m sure was true.

I didn’t say anything to him because for all I knew, he was one of the exempt ones, and also probably because if I’m honest, I didn’t want to make a fuss.

Coward.

Lucca- we DO do that- thats why theres so many people with these 'Lanyards' (which i presume has their 'exemption' card on?)My son, with severe Asthma, and so on these lax rules, he would be allowed to be exempt, but he wears TWO masks at a time, together, comfortably, as he says, if you have a genuine respiratory condition you would be safer WITH a mask, than without.And,he says it does not make it so you 'can't breathe' with one on at all! ?

CassieJ, it’s as I said - hardly anyone here is afraid of breaking the rules because of what might happen, fines or worse.
Hardly anyone is worried about being stopped and questioned by the police. Unlike in so many places elsewhere.

Though having said that, during the first lockdown a dd was ticked off by a police officer for sitting down on a bench a long way from anyone else, in order to breastfeed her young baby. There was no fine, let alone anything worse, though.,

Quite disappointed in some of the replies on this thread. I'm exempt, I can't even wear a mask for one minute let alone enough time to grab milk or bread in a shop. I try to avoid going out at all costs and get online deliveries of groceries however very often there are substitutes that just can't be accepted (for example I was sent scones in place of a loaf of bread) so I have no choice. My partner is disabled, my parents are high risk and my daughter is high risk. I have a lanyard that I paid for (not the print at home government exemption sheet), I try to go into shops when I know it isn't busy and I grab what I need and pay, I don't browse, I don't chat and I try to use self serve where available to limit my interactions with others. Really quite upsetting to know myself and others who are exempt are being judged and ridiculed on websites like this. Believe it or not there really are people who genuinely cannot wear a mask.

Why do so many people wear their masks under their nose? If the mask keeps slipping down then they need to find a mask that fits properly - (I have the opposite problem in that my masks creep up and impede my vision). The mask needs to cover the mouth and the noise otherwise a lot of the protection is lost.
I don't think it's up to shop workers to challenge non mask wearers: I'm reminded of the bus driver in France who challenged 4 men about not wearing a mask and got beaten to death by them. This is not what shop workers signed up when they took up the job. I really don't know what the answer is.

They should not be allowed to just print an exemption thing off the internet- IF they are genuinely exempt (though the rules for that are feeble, as pointed out above) then it SHOULD be an 'official' laminated one, sent in post from Health officials- or an NHS dept, to only a certain few- for those who they know already DO have certain health conditions- but as i said, i see no reason not to wear one with asthma, its probably better, healthwise if you do wear one.And 'steaming up your glasses' (I'm a glasses wearer) is NOT a good reason not to either! ?

So let me get this straight. You want to live in a country where you have to where a mask on leaving home, where shopkeepers and bus drivers work as law enforcers, where no one is allowed to visit you at home and you can only meet one other person outside. A country where everyone is afraid of the police because they regularly duff people up. I am sure there are lots of countries like that in the world. Can I respectfully suggest that if this is your thinking that you emigrate to one of them and leave this country to those who believe that a liberal democracy is the best form of government. And where freedoms of association, speech, worship etc etc are upheld by a moderate police force working by consent within the rule of law.

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

My daughter works in a small grocery store locally. She can tell tales of customer’s erratic behaviour and volatile reactions on a daily basis. Do I want her challenging people without masks? Absolutely not ! Is it wrong not to wear one? Of course. But she’s at risk of covid simply by virtue of her job. Should she then be expected to risk the wrath of someone who, let’s remember, has made a conscious and deliberate decision to not comply with mask wearing? Sorry, no. Someone needs to do it. But who?

I think that those who can’t wear masks outside for medical reasons such as asthma should wear one of those visors. They are see through and not restricting but it at least gives some kind of protection to others when they speak, cough, sneeze etc.

In Switzerland you are quickly pounced on if you try to enter without a mask. And asked to leave if you don't.

I am sorry to hear how you are made to feel nicholab85, I quite agree with you, this pandemic has made people far, far quicker to jump in and judge others very harshly indeed.

Shops can refuse entry legally ,big sign should be displayed NO MASK NO ENTRY, except on discrimatory grounds one of which is disability so it’s up to the person involved to get themselves a proper medical certificate or don’t go out. I saw two women made up to the nines in a bakers unmasked chatting away, when they left the shop they both lit up cigarettes. When I contacted baker they said they can’t do anything !

My DIL works in a small London supermarket. She's barely 5 feet tall but very feisty and challenges anyone who dares enter the shop without a mask and has physically ejected men bigger than her for not wearing masks. She tells them "If we can work a 10 hour shift in a mask you can wear one for 10 minutes!" She also insists that every customer uses the sanitizer that's provided. Customer's usual excuses are that their glasses steam up, her response is "Well you just think about that when you're dieing on a ventilator"

It should be compulsory for everyone to wear a mask both indoors and outside, except in their own homes. There are ventilator masks for joggers and runners etc or people with breathing difficulties. I am in the exempt category but on the 3 occasions I went out last year I always wore a mask as I felt it was the right thing to do even though I was puffing like an old steam engine! I am unlikely to be going anywhere for the foreseeable future, but if I did I wouldn't think twice about challenging non mask wearers, they're one of the reasons we're in this desperate situation now.

nicholab85- why would you not be able to wear one "even for minute"?? Unless its claustrophobia perhaps? And im not convinced one 'paid for' is any different either to the ones they print out- as there are sites that sell 'disability items' that let you buy things (like the Radar toilet key for example?) It doesn't mean you're medically exempt necessarily- if people are then the NHS or health dept should be sending those out (free of charge) to people genuinely exempt- NOTHING else should be accepted.Its turning into a complete shambles is the whole rules/regulations thing.(oh, and we all have to put up with 'unacceptable' supermarket substitutes- its just the way it is im afraid.

I've just unsubscribed from mumsnet because many of their attitudes to compliance were appalling. They made me so, so angry. As a retired nurse, and the daughter of a 90 year old retired nurse, with friends still working on the front line, I just couldn't believe how utterly self centred a lot of them are.

I was appalled a few weeks ago to walk nearby our local Tesco and see an endless stream of maskless people going in and out.

I know. I've been on and out of hospital since mid December, for major surgery and further complications. All the nursing staff were PPEd up and I wore a mask whenever anyone was in my room.

I did, however, have to ask the person who came in daily to clean, to put his mask over his nose, not just his mouth.

It's a bit like wearing your underpants with your willy hanging out over the top, but not as funny.

Also Spain isn’t so fantastic. Their last lockdown was so strict no one could move. Restrictions lifted and cases surged again mostly young people getting together partying then passing it on to family. Madrid was dire. Talk of more restrictions and people mostly youngsters again started rebelling, big demonstrations the police couldn’t handle. Covid cases sweeping the country despite some ridiculous timed curfews , even in the small villages ,as of course they all got together over Xmas , new year and Three kings.

I think people should wear a mask whenever they go out, as a previous poster mentioned. I feel sorry for the poor shop assistants who are subject to some aggressive behaviour when they question non mask wearers.

No sorry, ive several family members with asthma, and none of them (even the kids) see it as a reason NOT to wear a mask, they say they would rather have a mask on as they feel safer. And none so far have felt as though their breathing is impaired by a mask. ?