Face Masks in shops

I agree, I am a great believer in face masks and wear one when I leave home. If everyone had to wear them then it would help stop the spread.

I have got 3 so far , the first 2 I got as free , but found wearing glasses they steamed up after a period wearing a standard face mask .
Whilst out last Saturday ,a friend mentioned a chemist in Buckingham where I could by one with a breathing area in the mask for £2.99.
This will get its try out tomorrow ,and maybe buy another one as well .
Mick

Breathing area?
You mean the mask sits further out from your face?

I haven't been in any shops yet but I have worn a mask for a couple of hospital appointments.
I wholeheartedly agree they should be mandatory but I absolutely hate having anything over my face even a scarf in winter, I'm dreading it.

I can't see the problem with wearing one. Maybe if masks had been worn earlier, we wouldn't be in the state we are now!
My son was also expected to wear one when he went to his blood donor session.
We expect staff in hairdressers, beauty salons etc to wear PPE but surely we should respect that and do the same with a mask?
There are so many people that are walking around with this virus in blissful ignorance and you have no idea if the person standing near to you in the queue either has it or has a health problem that means that if they caught it, would mean that it may prove to be fatal for them.
"FarNorth" the mask with the breathing area I would guess is one that has a vent in it either in the middle over the mouth or to one side - looks a bit like someone has stuck a bottle top on it!

In case anybody missed this elsewhere.

I'm pleased to report that almost 100% of people locally are wearing masks or pulling polo necks over the nose/mouth in shops, as decreed by the SG. I've only been out a couple of times wearing mine and found that my glasses did indeed steam up. Solution? Simple - took my glasses off. I can read all but the smallest print without them.

I carry a small magnifying glass with me all the time.

Mandatory here and 100% compliance when I was shopping on Saturday. I wear glasses and they steam up a bit but it's not as if I have to wear the mask at home.

I agree, a collective approach needs to be adopted in shops particularly for necessary food shopping and picking up medicines from pharmacies. I do wear glasses when shopping otherwise I can't see sell by dates, that's a nuisance because they steam up, I'd like to take my glasses off when I'm not looking at a product, but well once you've touched something you need to sanitise hands each time before you go near face, so out of the question. Actually just seen your comment re magnifying glass Maybee, you've given me an idea there, I'll try that instead

Like the underwear analogy Maw, especially as some masks, the cup shaped ones, look like half a bra anyway

I tried the technique I use to stop my swimming goggles steaming up to see if it would help with my glasses when I wear a mask, and it does. You put a tiny drop - and I mean tiny - of washing up liquid on each lens then rub it in with your finger. Then you wipe it off (even if you can't actually see any!) with a dry tea towel. For my goggles I just do the inside, but I did both sides of my glasses. Sorted! I suppose if you have any special coating on your glasses you might have to be careful, but for bog-standard ones it seems to work well.

Here the compulsory face coverings in shops seems to be working well too, Granny 23.

MawB

Maw

twitter.com/doctorshaib?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

informative discussion with eddie mair,
scroll down to just below pics of his garden.
titled,
Bharat,
20-07-07 LBC Eddie Mair.
he advises against masks with vents. says may spread virus to others.

So - compulsory after the 24th. Why the delay? Surely a couple of days at the most would have done for anybody who doesn’t have a mask yet? ?

It has been mandatory to wear face masks here in Malta for months now. We are all used to it and everyone has to comply or else you can forget about shopping or having your hair done or anything else that means you might be in close contact with others, even with distancing.

We have had around 675 cases of covid here, no new cases for several days, 9 deaths and five cases who are recovering.

It is obviously much easier to control on a small island, but from tomorrow we will start allowing tourists in from the UK and I fear there will be a surge in cases, particularly if people don’t adhere to the rules.

Another confusing message from government ministers yesterday - don’t they talk to each other? About time masks made compulsory. Why wait a few more weeks? In some countries they give them away free.

I think the delay is because they have to change the law regarding face coverings
I will have to pop out before this and get anything I cant order on line
Must remember to put a mask in my car for filling up with fuel
Rarely go into shops now and will be less likely to now

A nice comment on mask wearing

You are all going to say that I am selfish, but I am really not looking forward to face masks being compulsory. Is it the thin edge of the wedge, will they become compulsory all of the time, whenever one is outside the house. I feel that without them we tend to keep our distance, and are able to exchange a smile with the shop staff - who are behind screens in our local shop. People who are infectious can still spread it via their hands and clothing. A badly worn mask gives a false sense of security. The freedoms and joys of living are gradually being eroded.

Nets/veils used as protection against biting or stinging insects are not masks. Just saying even though I get the 'joke'.

It's already law in Scotland to wear a face-covering in shops. I did so for the first time yesterday. I don't like wearing one (but I will) though I often wear a midge jacket when working in the garden. The midge jacket, with net covering one's face, is not a problem. I'll probaby start wearing a magnifying glass on a string round my neck when shopping as my glasses steam up. (I took them off yesterday; it means I can't read labels and dates and stuff, which I normally do while shopping). Even with a nose pinching and filtering, professional mask, this still happens. I discovered this when using an FFP3D mask (effective against high toxicity solid and liquid aerosols). We have some that OH bought when bird flu was a thing.

maw? that is so good

I think if I were a worker in a shop I would be very pleased that customers will now be masked.
I doubt anyone else watches Formular 1 racing, but there is no one without a (posh!) mask at anytime. The drivers, the team, the commentators etc. are all being kept in bubble hotels and moved from venue to venue in their bubbles too. Zero cases of infection.

Dancinjay

You are all going to say that I am selfish, but I am really not looking forward to face masks being compulsory. Is it the thin edge of the wedge, will they become compulsory all of the time, whenever one is outside the house. I feel that without them we tend to keep our distance, and are able to exchange a smile with the shop staff - who are behind screens in our local shop. People who are infectious can still spread it via their hands and clothing. A badly worn mask gives a false sense of security. The freedoms and joys of living are gradually being eroded.

I can’t agree Dancingjay if one life is saved because we wear a mask it is worth it.
For every death from COVID-19 the question of the freedoms and joys of living becomes academic.

More important to smile at the shop assistant than prevent the spread of a virus? Can’t you just say thank you instead. I despair.