Covid becoming just another bug

I’m still wearing a mask and sanitising, and avoiding crowds. I’ve been out to eat, I shop and go to the hairdressers, also been to the dentist and a week’s holiday in Somerset. I mix freely with my family, but am becoming more nervous of mixing with my friends, which I feel is not psychologically healthy, but it’s how I feel at the moment.
I hope Covid becomes less deadly in time, and that our vaccinations, and hopefully boosters, will protect us.

I love masks. For corona virus reasons, and other reasons.
I intend to always wear one in shops etc. and am convinced they do help to reduce infections.

I don't understand why the there is so much focus on cleaning surfaces and very little in ventilation.
Most buses and trains don't even have windows that can open.

It was interesting to note that very few people were reported to have caught 'flu last winter, could that have been due to mask-wearing? Impossible to know of course, and impossible to know how many 'flu deaths were counted as covid.
It's not difficult to wear a mask for most people, so it seems sensible to continue wearing one 'just in case', as one wears a seatbelt - 'just in case'.

We will have to wait and see but I agree most of us will end up getting it at some point in the coming years
I tend to avoid crowded areas I absolutely hate masks but will wear one where necessary
Mask wearing was never compulsory many who did not give a fig didn’t wear one Quite frankly the term sounds far to draconian for the UK
The extra hygiene measures like the extra cleaning of surfaces I hope will stay not just for this virus but for all the other bacteria and viruses
Testing I presume will disappear eventually especially the free lateral flow kits

Was in Aldi yesterday and felt conspicuous by me wearing mine! But I’m still going too. No one had them on.

They hide my wonky face.

Who are the mask-lovers?
Not me, for sure.

Here is one good thing they do - lower infections. You can see the way this works in this German study:
www.pnas.org/content/117/51/32293?fbclid=IwAR0VHb462M7hZ_dOUo82g9dcmkxPsabzOxNKCopm6deQ852cpYTuTo-i_B0

Biscuitmuncher slowed down the spread of COVID.

As the disease took hold and scientists grappled with how to protect us from it, it soon became very clear that the main means of transmission was aerosol spray from people with it. If they wore masks and you wore masks, the dangers of transmission were considerably reduced.

Considerably reduced is not the same as stopped altogether.

What do you consider the most effective way of avoiding transmission from person to person of this disease?

Biscuitmuncher

All you mask lovers, what good did they actually do?

What a remarkably childish question.
I echo exactly what Maize said.

Biscuitmuncher

All you mask lovers, what good did they actually do?

Without them case numbers would be considerably higher with the consequent increase in deaths and incidence of long covid.

Now I'll reverse your silly question and ask you what harm do they do?

All you mask lovers, what good did they actually do?

I have yet to see masks being abandoned in our area, in supermarkets almost everyone seems to be wearing them.
In our own business we stopped being so vigilant, but almost all customers continued to wear them, so we’ve done a U turn.

two words in your op whiewavemark2 'oh well' says it all.
i think we just have to accept the situation as dealt by the cards.
bring on c'est la vie and que sera, sera.
i will still wear a mask and air my property, keep hydrated, take vit d but the rest i will have to leave to fate.

Let’s hope so WWMk2. Another positive is seeing how much more attention is being paid to cleaning in commercial settings. I hope this continues going forward. Watching not only tables being wiped properly in cafes and bars (not just a desultory flick round as previously) but chair arms, condiments in separate paper sachets etc is so much better these days. On the negative side is seeing so many used face masks lying on the ground ...

Precious little mask wearing already ! I heard a very knowledgeable person the radio yesterday saying she absolutely could not see why compulsory mask wearing had been abandoned and I agree with her