And about time, too!

GrannyRose15. No, I don’t want to live in a country such as you describe. That is why I believe we should all follow the rules, wear masks outside and do everything we can to help stop the spread of this awful disease.

Yoy are all very lucky even being encouraged to wear masks, in Sweden where I live there hasnt been any talk about face masks until recently, when you are required to wear a mask when on public transport from 7 am to 9 am then 3pm until 6 pm I wonder if the powers that be think the virus disappears between 9 and 3, its amazing how they can think of suggesting this, apart from that, there are no masks worn anywhere, so think yourselves lucky that most people in the UK wear them.

Maybe we should use a sign like this. Translation ..If you enter this shop without a mask we shall have to take your temperature. PS . We only have rectal thermometers

Nannan2

nicholab- how awful for you& those others- but thats what i mean- people in your position need a proper official plastic exemption card to recognise this from the Government- so that the ones who 'just cant be bothered' are not being allowed to take advantage of a rule that was clearly meant for genuine reasons like yours and some medical reasons to not wear one.

And use up more precious time of health professionals doling them out and checking eligibility, further delaying the vaccine rollout.

Lots of people are talking about "exemption lanyards". These are available to anyone, no proof required. It doesn't affect me now as I'm shielding again; I do though have an exemption as I have severe asthma. Most of the time I'm able to wear a mask for the length of time it takes to go to a shop and I have a nice selection to choose from. The one time I had to take my mask off, as my breathing wasn't good, the assistant serving me in Morrisons told me off as if I was a naughty school girl! She wouldn't accept my asthma society exemption on my phone & insisted I should have their own lanyard. I explained that I was unable to get one as they had none left. Half the shoppers were sporting them including all 5 members of a family standing outside happily puffing away on their cigs! I never did get a lanyard and haven't been back to Morrisons either because of the lack of compassion especially as I was obviously struggling.

nicholab- how awful for you& those others- but thats what i mean- people in your position need a proper official plastic exemption card to recognise this from the Government- so that the ones who 'just cant be bothered' are not being allowed to take advantage of a rule that was clearly meant for genuine reasons like yours and some medical reasons to not wear one.

That was Richard the third.

Sarnia- Boris is an idiot! Hes far too hung up on being like churchill, so now 'this is the winter of our discontent'....

My exemption is extreme mask phobia, something I've lived with my entire life. It isn't something I can just get over, since March I've been receiving therapy for this as I have no choice but to go out sometimes due to my family not being able to do it. It resulted in many panic attacks because my phobia is both seeing masks and wearing them. I can now deal with seeing others in masks for short periods, the maximum time with one on my face is currently 31 seconds. It may seem silly to many but to me it is a very very real phobia. I'm terrified of other shoppers without the added stress of being judged, my biggest concern when out is that somebody in a mask will approach me. Trust me, I want to be in the shops as much as mask wearers want me in there! Not at all!
My whole life all I've had to avoid is Halloween. Never in my wildest dreams did i expect to be surrounded by my absolute worst nightmare, but here we are and its going to take a lot of work to overcome. I've tried up to now 6 different types of masks and visors and as of yet I still can't get beyond those 31 seconds. I haven't seen a single friend since last February and been to shops a handful of times, believe me I'm trying.
I've joined a group recently for fellow maskaphobics and many of the members are phobic due to horrific traumas, for example a common one was rape.. in particular having their faces covered with pillowcases whilst being raped. One girl had this done by her step father between the ages of 3 and 13. It's quick to assume because someone is young then they're just flouting rules but believe me that isn't always the case, sometimes there are very real, very traumatic reasons for not wearing a mask.

Last time I went to my Morrisons, the same big burley man was on the door (outside) with a pack of masks in hand. They also keep count of how many are in the store.

Before xmas my older son & I nipped in to b&q for a real xmas tree- it WAS in the outdoors area tbf- & I'd not remembered to get my mask out of my bag-(id not been out for 4weeks) as i went to queue up i remembered it- then i noticed no one else hardly had one either (my son did and one other customer) but none of staff did either- and they weren't asking customers to wear them or why not either! ?

I think the gov't need to look at the 'list of reasons' to be exempt from wearing masks again- and only have the most important ones on there.Simply having asthma shouldn't be on it.or at least they should advise the asthma sufferers/inhaler users to get A VISOR instead to wear- or to wear a mask if they feel comfortable doing so- NOT just automatically add them to the exempt list.It should be the medically exempt only.(& this should be backed by NHS proof)!

That's what i mean Rosie51- my sons say they can still breathe comfortably.even wearing 2 together.

One of my other sons has COPD- but he wears a mask when he goes out.

Masks do not deprive you of oxygen. There is a video of a doctor hooked up to an oxygen saturation monitor. You can see the reading at 98%. He then puts on one mask, still 98%. he then adds about another 5 or 6 masks until he can't get anymore over his ears. The reading stays at 98% proving there has been no reduction in oxygen uptake.

Couldn't find the video I originally saw but found this one www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5npQivAmcE

So many people seem to breeze straight in past the sanitising stations too now.

My son was born(very early) with lung disease- was on oxygen almost 2years- it has improved a bit as hes grown up- but still has severe asthma and high steroid inhalers/steroid tablets up to 3/4 times a year.He still maintains he is better off wearing masks than not to.

handbaghoarder

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?

This is the difficulty.

I'm the first lockdown there was a video of a girl told to put her mask o who then went berserk and smashed all the bottles.of wine from the shelves o to the floor.
Staff were surrounding her but couldn't or didn't want to stop her.
You just dont know what the repercussions of a challenging someone will be.

HannahlL, thats what i mean- those with genuine medical reason like yours- should be issued with a VISOR then, so you can be protected yet still breathe, AND a proper official laminated card from the department of health or the NHS- And people in similar situations/medical conditions etc- then it would be clear.

Yes Lucca, i meant we DO (mostly) wear them except there are ones who are 'exempt' (and therefore MUST wear something to say so) Thats what we are SUPPOSED TO do.(but the reasons for exemption are so many, and feeble) And so many are able to get away with not wearing one, its ridiculous! And seemingly the wearing of a lanyard doesn't make it medically official.or required.

I have a lung disease which makes breathing in a mask extremely difficult. The only time I go out is for eye clinic appointments when I have to wear a mask. I’ve bought a pack of those plastic mask supports which fit under the mask and hold it away from your mouth and nose while still keeping the sides closed. It helps a little bit but I’m so glad to take it off once I’m outside. I feel quite dizzy from lack of oxygen after wearing a mask.

I don't understand why people can get away with this behaviour in the UK.

You cannot here in Denmark, or across the border in Germany.

The shop manager would ask you to leave and call the police if you didn't.

You cannot get on a bus without a mask on, or into a taxi and even to go into the railway station, even those with open air platforms you must be masked.

Here the attitude is, either wear a mask or a vizor or stay at home.

It's a pity that exemotions ftom mask wearing didn't require an official letter from one's health professional from the start. I do not blame minimum wage shop workers for not wanting to tackling non mask wearers but no mask, no service might help.

Before I was furloughed I worked in a small shop in our village. Over the summer we had many holidaymakers and locals shop and I would say 95% wore masks. If they didn’t have one I’d offer them one to use. Funnily enough I had more abuse from people when asking them please to gel their hands, than asking to wear a mask. If they refused to gel then I would say ‘that’s fine but please don’t touch any stock’. They would either then gel reluctantly or leave.

Well perhaps the shops should refuse to serve anyone without a mask?