Will you be wearing a mask?

I shall be wearing a mask because I am public-spirited, even though I am not convinced they are protective, either way. I feel the wearing of it is to encourage more people to come out of lockdown, but those who are just emerging expect to find queues, one way systems, two metre distancing and strictly NO overtaking, which is not practical any more with more people using the shops and returning to work, therefore less time.

I've been wearing a mask out in public ever since all of this began, and I've encouraged all my family and friends in the UK to do so too. Some of them have, and some haven't, basically because they say they felt stupid!

I'm so glad it's going to made mandatory, because I care about these people, and much prefer that they stay as safe as possible. Everyone where I live wears masks, and we have very few cases/deaths. Hopefully, with it being made mandatory in the UK, and more people having to wear them, then less people will feel 'stupid'! I swear some people would secretly be happier wearing a mask, but just worry about what others think!

Well there are still people who are too “cool” to wear seat belts - no comment
Not many who omit to wear helmets on motor bikes but there was a time when they were pooh poohed too.

What I find inconsistent is that there are some who expressed how miserable they have been under lockdown/shielding and are at actual risk on account of their age or health issues - why are some of them bleating about face masks now.
Masks are not the problem - Covid 19 is.

craftyone

There are an awful lot of cowed- down scared people out there. Could be, would be, what if. Brain washed by endless subliminal messages. Very sad state of affairs.

Not at all. Just because you have a different opinion does not mean you are correct.

I presume you are trying to say that those who agree on wearing masks are somehow less intelligent than you and don’t think for themselves.

No words.

The Daily Mail isn’t always the most unbiased of papers!

Haha MawB that’s a good one.?

This from Judy Murray!

Just got two home made masks today from someone who is making them, donations going to the local hospice.

Good wheeze I thought.

I just read an article that said people wore face masks during the blitz: recommended by the government who were worried that people crammed into the underground would result in flu epidemics. So people wanting the blitz spirit to resurrect itself should wear masks.

Hear hear Growstuff.

Ah well! Hopefully all these people who won't wear mask will be staying at home. At least shops will be safer for the rest of us. Whatever happened to British fortitude? Wearing a mask is the least of our worries.

There are an awful lot of cowed- down scared people out there. Could be, would be, what if. Brain washed by endless subliminal messages. Very sad state of affairs.

NannyC2

Well put, Honda Boy - you have obviously done a lot of research.
As for the evidence base behind the use of facemasks in surgery, the JRSM (Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine) -they examined the evidence -

Overall there is a lack of substantial evidence to support claims that facemasks protect either patient or surgeon from infectious contamination. More rigorous contemporary research is needed to make a definitive comment on the effectiveness of surgical facemasks.

A contemporary questionnaire-based study, which attempted to assess the attitudes of surgeons, revealed that 96% of responders wore facemasks. About equal numbers did so with the primary aim of protecting the patients compared to protecting themselves. However, it was also found that 20% of responding surgeons wore the mask for the sole purpose of respecting tradition. Furthermore, 30% of responding surgeons felt that masks could make surgery more difficult by increasing breath condensation on spectacles, endoscopes and microscopes and thereby obscuring vision.
(Good point about condensation)!

The latest National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines on the matter do not require operating staff to wear a mask in theatre. This decision was based primarily upon the findings of a Cochrane systematic review.

So, we have lots of info out there.
I will have respect for others by not getting too close, but I will not be driven by fear and control.

I agree with Peter Hichens today who said....

"Every day I still see unhappy, frightened people cringing from human contact. They have been terrified almost out of their minds by foolish government propaganda, and the most basic trust, the very heart of civilisation, has been destroyed.
Millions of us know this is all the most appalling rubbish, based on wild, wrong guesses and twisted figures, and one day soon I hope an icy public inquiry will condemn those responsible for the grave, incompetents they are."

Never mind anger - we need to try and relax, it is much healthier. We need to heed pathologists who do know what they are talking about and should be allowed to do more autopsies.
'You don't die because of Covid - you die with it'!

Each individual has to be allowed to make their own choices.

You don’t die because of Covid
Well, Nanny C2
You might like to take note of this from Sky News today
The long-term effects of COVID-19, even on people who suffered a mild infection, could be far worse than was originally anticipated, according to researchers and doctors in northern Italy

Psychosis, insomnia, kidney disease, spinal infections, strokes, chronic tiredness and mobility issues are being identified in former coronavirus patients in Lombardy, the worst-affected region in the country

The doctors warn that some victims may never recover from the illness and that all age groups are vulnerable

Worth thinking about.

I know what you mean. I’m not the most social of people but have always enjoyed chats with strangers on buses, trains: fellow dog walkers etc. Thankfully, the internet does fill the gap to a certain extent.

I haven't read the whole thread but wanted to add an observation.
This morning I went to our our town centre for the first time since lockdown. I went on the bus.
The bus was nearly empty and everyone wore a mask - including me.
In town I went into the bank, all well spaced out. Then Tesco - same there. Masks about 50/50 - I wore mine.
The sad difference I noticed though was the lack of communication betwen people, verbal and otherwise. the town used to be a very sociable place, at bus stops, on the bus, in and out of shops etc. Most people have lived here all their lives.
I used to go there partly to chat to people, whether I know them or not. But not possible now. hoping and praying this stage of the virus doesn't last too long.

Thank you Callistemon

Sorry, not sorty

Sorty, Eloethan, To make it clearer:

The elastic doesn't go behind my ears. It's long enough to go right round my head.

Eloethan

Not unless I'm forced to. I don't know if it's the shape of my face/ears but they keep coming off and I'm sure continually messing about with them is worse than not wearing them at all.

I made some, Eloethan, the 'duck's shaped ones from the Olson pattern and used the thin round elastic. This goes round my head, on below and one above my ears, which is more comfortable.

It also holds wayward lockdown hair in place!
Someone I know cut strips of t shirt material which ties in a bow at the back of the head when making children's masks.

MawB sympathies. I have tried and failed to understand what this was all about!!

grannypiper

Yes because we have been told we have to wear them in shops and on public transport.

Which post are you answering?

rosecarmel

MawB

rosecarmel

MawB

Not how I read it Rosecarmel. I think the poster was saying Covid-19 itself doesn’t kill, rather like the cliché about Prostate Cancer, that more men die with it, than of it. Which simply reflects that in some older men it can progress so slowly that they die of old age instead. Sadly not so often the case these days.

I see-

All in all, it's a sad circumstance- People are still comparing it to seasonal flu- It's July- Since when have hospitals reached capacity from influenza in the month of July?

I don’t know where you get your information from, Rosecarmel
Nobody is comparing it to flu - other than the Donald.

Our hospitals in the U.K. have not reached capacity with Covid-19 patients.
In England currently 2088 beds out of a total of 91,975 are occupied by Covid patients and 190 ICU beds out of a total of 2,287
Capacity?
Hardly.

That's a condescending, ignorant, bias response- But expected- ?

I keep forgetting that the hospital beds in the UK are royal -- and the only ones in the whole, wide world ..

Donald is the only person in the whole wide world comparing the virus to the flu- Isn't that a limited view-

I think I'm going to change my user name to MawBrose- And only wear white clothes-

Perhaps I should apologise for not getting the full meaning as Rosecarmel did not specify the US.

I keep forgetting that the hospital beds in the UK are royal -- and the only ones in the whole, wide world ..

I do not regard our hospital beds as “Royal” (why on earth should I, but was speaking I think for the majority of members who are in the U.K. )

This however is less easy to stomach.
That's a condescending, ignorant, bias response- But expected- ?
In an attempt to defend myself from unwarranted personal attacks like this I have replied that I will no longer engage with such gratuitous and increasingly *** insults and incomprehensible wandering.

I apologise for the redacted word and withdraw it but fail to see how a simple objective expression of understanding of how Trump got elected warrants deletion?

To be fair, I think rosecarmel was saying that it is ridiculous to compare it to seasonal flu as we don't, in the northern hemisphere, get seasonal flu in July, and that therefore, the hospitals in the USA which are full are not full of flu patients!

Still no idea what Rosecarmel was on about. Anybody else like that delicious dessert Atholl Brose?

Anyway, back to the thread subject - hard as that may be to accept - and answering OP’s question.
Will you be wearing a mask?
When appropriate -yes and this is how to treat it.

I’d like to agree with the poster who asked people who refuse to wear a mask (mandatory here in Scotland) to give her a wide berth. Please, if you have any concern at all for others, avoid them in shops and enclosed spaces. Please.