So masks are to become optional, do you think this is a good idea?

Growstuff good for you. ? And I'm sure you can tell me that you completely understand what each grade of mask can and cannot do in terms of protection.
I think it's time to stop throwing out the selfish card in these discussions.

my partner and i will both continue to wear masks when in shops or public places not so in open uncrowded places this is mainly because i have COPD and cannot risk getting covid i hate wearing the mask get breathless if i have to wear for a long periods , we have both had our vaccinations but know this is not 100% effective so wearing a mask is a yes from us for a while longer until we feel safe not wearing one

Oh dear. If I don’t have to wear a mask, it looks like I’m going to have to start waxing the facial hair again ?

Do I trust Johnson to get it right this time? No. Will I continue to protect myself and others by continuing to wear a mask? Yes. Do I trust Johnson to protect the NHS? No.

Narrowboatnan Yes and I’ve replenished my lipstick collection, ready for no masks!

I think they should remain mandatory on public transport and other indoor areas at least until virus numbers are lower. I do think wearing masks shows consideration for others. Wearing them protects other people. So saying wear one if you are worried doesn't work. Unless other people wear them too I am not protected . I wont be going on a bus or in a shop if people are not wearing masks. So as far as I am concerned it's certainly not Freedom Day!

Seems like a government U-turn i.e. ignoring the data and going by dates instead. It's politics and I'm seething.

Regardless of fewer people dying from Covid, it's still a scary horrible experience and the long term repercussions can be pretty awful.

I've just spoken to a friend; she's a critical care doctor in a hospital in the Greater Manchester (GM) area. She said admissions are at winter levels and they're running out of beds. No doubt this will be the case across the GM region as well as other areas where the Delta variant is increasing.

IMO we should not be giving up masks just yet. We still have a collective responsibility to keep everyone safe and well. Two vaccinations does not stop one from getting Covid.

See Stephen Reicher's tweet here and follow the link to The Guardian's article:

twitter.com/ReicherStephen/status/1411811265077518340

I hope the OP finds a way through.

Over 80% of the population have had the first jab and wellover 60% the second jab and that figure is rising fast
These are the statistics for over 18s so it's not 80% of the population it's 80% of those over 18. There is still a large proportion of the population that are not protected. And being vaccinated does not mean you will not get covid. Especially if you have only had one jab so far. My daughter a very fit 30 something who has only had one jab has caught it. And she is now ill. The Delta variant is very infectious and running riot in schools.
If wearing a mask in closed spaces helps to protect people I don't see why people object at least until a higher proportion of the whole population have had 2 jabs and the rate has gone down.

rosie1959

twinnytwin

Growstuff - taking personal responsibility doesn't mean that I refuse to wear a mask ever again. It means that I make the decision rather than the Govt. No need to use an exclamation mark in your response. I rarely comment on Gransnet due to this type of behaviour.

Totally agree twinnytwin It was a total pleasure to look around the shops this morning without a ruddy mask. I would have looked out of place if I had been wearing one
Being continuously told on here that they are not a problem is the writers opinion not mine I find them disorientating and generally unpleasant

I don't know which shops you were in, but if they were places where few people wore masks, they certainly won't be getting my business.

How is a mask disorientating? Sorry, but I genuinely don't understand. People don't wear them on their eyes.

sandye

I won't be wearing a mask after 19th unless for work.I am very skeptical of the figure's I know someone who had covid and he was rung by 4 diffrent departments to record him having it, so one case turned into four. Also if you listern to the way it's recorded ''if a posative covid test in 28 days'' so someone having a posative test then being killed in a car crash is still covid. My 90 year old mother tested posative and the only way we knew she had it was because she lives in a home and was tested reg.

Very few people are killed in a car crash every day, never mind whether they've had Covid. That argument has been refuted so many times.

Skye17

@chattykathy Sorry, I meant my comment at 11:58 today.

Well, let's say you have greater protection wearing a KN95 mask then, especially when so many aren't going to wear any kind of face covering.

I don’t think there are any plans at the moment to vaccinate children, so they will presumably still be slightly at risk of catching the virus and possibly passing it on.

However we know children have a very tiny risk of becoming seriously ill and day by day there will be fewer unvaccinated adults to potentially pass it on to.

Also of course once a child or teen has had it they will have built up antibodies to prevent them getting it again.

I know I am stating the obvious here but I do feel that a lot of folks fears are unfounded.

I guess it will take a while for some people to accept that life has to return to normal, but I’m sure confidence will return.

Gabrielle56

Any establishment shop pub hotel etc have the right to refuse either entry or to serve anyone they choose for any-or no-reason. Your establishment your rules. I'd have a polite notice asking customers to use a mask if they have one but if you're so scared, maybe the shop is not the environment for you? If you've had your jabs you're going to be ok anyway. If anyone is being objectionable you also can ask them to leave!

Any business with a sign with that wording wouldn't get any trade from me.

Skye17

Some people are saying that masks only protect other people, not the wearer. This is almost certainly not true. This is an article by a professor of medicine, called ‘Cloth masks do protect the wearer – breathing in less coronavirus means you get less sick’.

theconversation.com/cloth-masks-do-protect-the-wearer-breathing-in-less-coronavirus-means-you-get-less-sick-143726

She says:

‘Laboratory experiments have shown that good cloth masks and surgical masks could block at least 80% of viral particles from entering your nose and mouth.’

The number of viral particles you breathe in can make the difference between being very ill and not even knowing you’re infected.

‘My colleagues and I believe that evidence from laboratory experiments, case studies like the cruise ship and food processing plant outbreaks and long-known biological principles make a strong case that masks protect the wearer too.’

They protect other people more, but they also protect the wearer.

I personally hate wearing a mask and can’t wait to stop, though I am willing to continue as necessary, and will probably wear them sometimes even if I don’t have to. But I think it’s important to take note of the evidence before making statements like ‘They don’t protect the person who wears them.’

Well said.

JenniferEccles

I don’t think there are any plans at the moment to vaccinate children, so they will presumably still be slightly at risk of catching the virus and possibly passing it on.

However we know children have a very tiny risk of becoming seriously ill and day by day there will be fewer unvaccinated adults to potentially pass it on to.

Also of course once a child or teen has had it they will have built up antibodies to prevent them getting it again.

I know I am stating the obvious here but I do feel that a lot of folks fears are unfounded.

I guess it will take a while for some people to accept that life has to return to normal, but I’m sure confidence will return.

Children over 12 actually have a very high risk of being infected and have a high risk of suffering from Long Covid. They are currently being forced into over-crowded environments with poor ventilation and almost no mitigation.

My goodness! I claim another 5p for parroting of the "life return to normal" mantra.

Growstuff I as mentioned in a previous post I am in Jersey where face masks are now not required
I am sorry you don’t understand and of course I don’t wear a mask over my eyes but I do find they have this effect I am not alone I have many friends who feel like this
But it was so good to walk around without it

It's very interesting that Chris Whitty, Patrick Vallance and even Boris Johnson have just said they would continue to wear masks in indoor spaces where they are with people they are not normally with to protect others as a common courtesy.

And that there will be guidance but not law. They should just keep it mandatory!

rosie1959

Growstuff I as mentioned in a previous post I am in Jersey where face masks are now not required
I am sorry you don’t understand and of course I don’t wear a mask over my eyes but I do find they have this effect I am not alone I have many friends who feel like this
But it was so good to walk around without it

Whether you're in Jersey or any other part of the world, I'm afraid I'm at a loss to understand how wearing a mask affects your eyes. I'm afraid I don't have any friends with this problem either. It just seems a little odd.

EthelJ they are asking us to use a bit of common sense. Sometimes rules around masks are daft. My DH walks into the pub wearing a mask after about 6 feet he sits down and takes it off To me the end of such pointless exercises is beyond overdue

EthelJ

It's very interesting that Chris Whitty, Patrick Vallance and even Boris Johnson have just said they would continue to wear masks in indoor spaces where they are with people they are not normally with to protect others as a common courtesy.

And that there will be guidance but not law. They should just keep it mandatory!

Helen Whately said the same. Presumably they're expecting people to continue wearing them and leaving the fall out to shopkeepers, etc and will blame the public for being irresponsible when cases rise.

Growstuff I said it makes me feel disoriented whether you understand it or not is totally irrelevant to me
I was also pointing out that as masks have been dropped here very few are wearing them so given a choice it appears many will not.

Children over 12 actually have a very high risk of being infected and have a high risk of suffering from Long Covid.

In the middle of a pandemic its incumbent on everyone to use language carefully and not inflame the situation, so let's look at this.

Looking at Scottish data, which I'm most familiar with, around 3,000 children aged over 12 have developed Covid in the last week, that's about 13% of all Covid cases. The relative risk of children in this age bracket developing Covid is less than any other age group between 20 and 64. (Incidentally, the number of children in this age bracket who have died in Scotland is....0)

Are they at a high risk of developing Long Covid? Well I can't find any age-stratified results, but in the Zoe App Prof Spector shows that one person in 45 is likely to suffer from symptoms for longer than 12 weeks. Statistically, the incidence of Long Covid in under 50s is about half of what it is in over 70s. So we're talking about a risk for children of about 1-2%.

So I don't agree that children have a "high risk" of developing Long Covid.

If we're going to make sweeping statements, we need to make sure they are accurate. You can tell me now that 1% of a big number is a big number....

BTW growstuff- I explained what life return to normal means for some, but you appear to have ignored it.

rosie1959

EthelJ they are asking us to use a bit of common sense. Sometimes rules around masks are daft. My DH walks into the pub wearing a mask after about 6 feet he sits down and takes it off To me the end of such pointless exercises is beyond overdue

There's no such thing as common sense.

Personally, I wouldn't go into a pub where people aren't wearing masks, unless it were extremely well ventilated, but there's no reason to give other venues an excuse for people not to be masked. All it will do is give business owners yet another headache, if they want to enforce mask wearing.

No, I didn't ignore it Alegrias. I just didn't respond. Maybe you'd be so kind as to explain why you can't do those things wearing a mask.