Wonderful News - No more face masks

I also invested in a FFP2 mask - as it's also adjustable, it fits my face well and I find my glasses don't steam up the same way they tended to do with the disposable ones.

rosie1959

MayBee70 if you want to wear a mask then do it. It’s nobody’s business but your own. Perhaps consider like Growstuff a FFP2 mask then it won’t matter what everyone else is doing because it will actually protect you

I have been wearing these for nearly a year. They've protected me from contracting covid several times when I've been working 121, sitting directly next to students who have later that day tested positive for covid.

I don't think they're foolproof but they work a lot better than the standard blue masks. They also stand away from your nose and mouth so it's easier to talk and fit tightly around your face so no flapping open.

My face masks will be used until I feel confident enough not to wear them.

Pepper59

I never understand folk who say masks do nothing. Why are surgeons in operating theatres wearing them for hours on end then?

Agree 100%

Lilacchaser.
Could you answer this?

MayBee70 if you want to wear a mask then do it. It’s nobody’s business but your own. Perhaps consider like Growstuff a FFP2 mask then it won’t matter what everyone else is doing because it will actually protect you

What worries me more than anything is going back to a situation where I feel ridiculed and sniggered at for wearing a mask. I wasn’t being paranoid about it, either, because my daughter felt the same. As a scout leader she insisted on the children wearing masks on the scout bus when they had trips out and that prevented some children ( and herself) from catching covid when one child was found to be positive after a day out. Everything is so much easier when it’s mandated. It isn’t as if it’s stopping anyone from doing anything. And, when people compare covid deaths to flu deaths, look at how few flu deaths there were as a direct result of covid restrictions.

???

My son said it was like a business meeting not going too well so the sakes manager just blurts out “ok we’ll give you 20% discount !”

Heads in hands in disbelief I should think.

Lucca

Apologies if this has been said but I’d have slightly more confidence in this decision if it had been announced in a briefing with Whitty etc, not just blurted out when Johnson was trying to save face, cover his backside etc after a tricky PMQ

I did wonder where Prof Whitty et al were when these announcements were being made.

I will still wear a mask when out of my house. I don't think Covid is over, by a long chalk and I will keep my distance from others.

Couldn’t agree more Lucca. I haven’t heard anything at all from Whitty & co. I would have expected at least one of them at yesterday’s 5pm conference.

The new rules on reporting positive lft results worry me. How can anyone assess their risk of catching covid without knowing what the case numbers are doing?

Apologies if this has been said but I’d have slightly more confidence in this decision if it had been announced in a briefing with Whitty etc, not just blurted out when Johnson was trying to save face, cover his backside etc after a tricky PMQ

Urmstongran

Maybe ‘under reporting’ is a good thing. Focussing on ‘cases’ is terrifying some folk. Let’s concentrate on hospitalisations. We test far too much in the UK. Way more than here in Spain and France too. I’m sure it not good for some people’s mental well being.

More gaslighting! People are more resilient than you give them credit for. I don't remember you ever being concerned about the cuts to mental health funding before Covid.

Catching Covid isn't very good for people's wellbeing.

GrannyGravy13

Kali2

''Until a more lethal mutant strain emerges, of course., JE''

this exactly- and the reason why no other country is currently lifting restrictions, at least in the EU.

I've never been one for gambling, in any form- but this is the form of gambling that could turn out to be a disaster, a criminal and deliberate disaster, to save some baffoon's skin.

But there are some Countries in Europe who are lifting the need for a negative PCR for fully vaccinated folks to fly into them, to save the Ski Tourist Industry, Switzerland and Austria.

Yes, and totally wrong to my mind. However, strict restrictions remain re wearing of masks, wash hands, gel, and Covid passes to enter restaurants, bars, etc.

Waiting for pitfalls? NO. Many scientists agree that it is taking a huge gamble, that the virus could mutate again to a more virulent form and could 'rebound with a vengeance', and that waiting a couple more months to the end of winter would be much more sensible. Why rush now, after all the sacrifices made so far. Just a few more weeks- till the better weather arrives?!?

Another therory of course, and that will truly infuriate those who believe the non-vaccinated should not be discriminated against- is that it is now official policy to 'throw them under a bus' and let them become very sick and worse.

Urmstongran

Maybe ‘under reporting’ is a good thing. Focussing on ‘cases’ is terrifying some folk. Let’s concentrate on hospitalisations. We test far too much in the UK. Way more than here in Spain and France too. I’m sure it not good for some people’s mental well being.

Totally agree. Too much media frenzy. Too much fear.
We have to move forward with Optimism.

Maybe ‘under reporting’ is a good thing. Focussing on ‘cases’ is terrifying some folk. Let’s concentrate on hospitalisations. We test far too much in the UK. Way more than here in Spain and France too. I’m sure it not good for some people’s mental well being.

No point dwelling on the ‘what ifs’ really is there?
Yes of course a more deadly, highly transmissible strain might come along, but equally it might not!

I am commenting on the handling of the situation as it stands, and as there is no sign of anything deadly on the horizon, the government’s decision is appropriate.

Maybe it just boils down to those of us with an optimistic view of life versus those of a more negative mindset.

Some of you seem to be avidly looking for pitfalls now. You seem to almost want a “gotcha” moment. Shame you can’t embrace the good news.

Never mind. In the big sea we will all act according to our own assessments. No right or wrong. Just different.

"If you get a positive lateral flow test result, you do not need to confirm the result with a PCR test. You only need to confirm a positive lateral flow test if: you're applying for a Test and Trace Support Payment. "

www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/testing/test-results/positive-test-result/

What will be the effect of this change to the rules? - A huge under-reporting of the number of infections, undermining our faith in official statistics. The true incidence of covid infection may not be known until the results appear in the death rates, but that means a lag of several weeks, so Johnson can use the falling figures to bolster his chances of survival, at least for a while.

Kali2

''Until a more lethal mutant strain emerges, of course., JE''

this exactly- and the reason why no other country is currently lifting restrictions, at least in the EU.

I've never been one for gambling, in any form- but this is the form of gambling that could turn out to be a disaster, a criminal and deliberate disaster, to save some baffoon's skin.

But there are some Countries in Europe who are lifting the need for a negative PCR for fully vaccinated folks to fly into them, to save the Ski Tourist Industry, Switzerland and Austria.

''Until a more lethal mutant strain emerges, of course., JE''

this exactly- and the reason why no other country is currently lifting restrictions, at least in the EU.

I've never been one for gambling, in any form- but this is the form of gambling that could turn out to be a disaster, a criminal and deliberate disaster, to save some baffoon's skin.

I think we should consider ourselves very lucky that this Omicron variant came along. We all know the facts now that although it’s very transmissible, it produces much milder symptoms than previously strains.
A win win situation surely?

Until a more lethal mutant strain emerges, of course., JE

And we have no idea what long term damage these supposedly mild infections are causing all the vulnerable, unvaccinated, schoolchildren who are catching it. Because most scientists will tell you that it aint like flu and it can cause significant long term problems.

But you just go on praising a dangerously reckless PM who doesn't give a monkey's for the health and wellbeing of the population of the country he is meant to be caring for and who is willing to subject the people to unknown dangers all for the sake of saving his job.

I think we should consider ourselves very lucky that this Omicron variant came along. We all know the facts now that although it’s very transmissible, it produces much milder symptoms than previously strains.
A win win situation surely?
Recent figures seem to indicate we are over the worst.

Putting aside the parties/work gatherings at no. 10 for a moment, I think we have a lot to be grateful to the PM for.

He has had some incredibly difficult decisions to make with regard to the timings of lifting restrictions, but despite the inevitable opposition he had the courage to stick to his guns and we are now on course to be one of the first European countries to be getting back to some sort of normality.

In any case I’m just sharing what I found Growstuff. I’m very happy to read more up to date information.

Personally, I may still continue to wear masks on public transport and when shopping. I think it’s a bit too soon to abandon all restrictions.