Should I persevere with a mask

Thanks Flowershop. I'm just amazed that there is so little mention of how well Portugal have handled the pandemic and, to be honest I know very little about the political situation in your country. Anyway, I'm pleased to hear it and I hope your country continues to fight the virus successfully. x

I should have added that the wearing of masks is now compulsory

@MayBee70
I'm in Portugal, the pandemic has been very well handled here. There are just over 1, 000 deaths.
The country was locked down at the beginning of March. The beaches were shut and the tourist border with Spain was closed very early.
Restrictions started to be lifted on Monday, small shops are open and hairdressers too.
Restaurants and bars will reopen on May 18th.

I so agree Eazybee. I was really fed up at couples shopping last time I was out. The woman in front of me had a mask but it was up and down all the time as she kept making phone calls. She must have touched her face 100% more often than I did. Also no gloves and lots of picking up and putting down items. However, I'm sure she felt virtuous 'wearing' a mask.

A lot of supermarkets only allow one able bodied person in, and as for people touching products and then returning it to the shelves, that's why it's important to wash/disinfect your purchases when you get home. I will keep doing it even after all this has calmed down. If we must wear masks and gloves in supermarkets then an assistant should be at the door distributing them, so there are no excuses and they should be watched that they are kept on.

I followed a couple wearing masks round the supermarket when I did my weekly shop. They lifted all the possible purchases off the shelves with their ungloved hands to examine them closely before returning most of them ; most shoppers, unmasked, gazed at the products before choosing one and placing it directly in the basket.
And why, when there is a queue, is it necessary for two able-bodied people to shop together and consult on every single purchase?

Here in Malta it is compulsory to wear a mask when shopping or using public transport.

Ski cowl - is that the proper name for those neck things Teacheranne? I’ve seen them called many different names - tubulars, cowls, neck warmers..... but that does describe them best.

I have a about ten of them in various colours (mostly Buff ones) and wear them a lot anyway. Neck warmer, ear warmer, hat, hair holder-backer, nose warmer and now Covid protection. The advice is to treble the thickness. And my specs don’t mist up!

I saw a useful clip to help prevent masks riding up.

Tie a knot in each of the loops close to the mask, then tuck the sides in as far as they'll fit. This takes the slack off the mask and it fits very snugly.

OH has a wider fizzog, however, so he doesn't need the knotted version.

I'm not sure if it might also help with steamed up specs. You could try it though.

Masks used on public transport and in shop could easily prevent the spread especially by someone infectious but asymptomatic. Other countries where the virus is more under control are concentrating on these people.

So while you might not want to wear one, how would you feel about the person ahead of you in the queue who is shedding the virus unawares?

I am in Scotland and after we were told to wear masks in shops and other confined spaces I used a silk scarf in the supermarket which brought on a hot flush and panic attack. I pulled it down replacing it when near people but couldn’t wait to get out of there.
The same day my OH saw four nuns in a car all wearing masks, and the driver marigold gloves. ?

I have made myself a few masks using two layers of cotton fabric and a filter pocket. I have no more elastic, just found a few yards in my sewing kit, so have used elastic bands.

I find the pleated type rather uncomfortable, it seems to ride high too close to my eyes. I prefer the shaped type with a rounded shape. I have no means of creating a nose clip though as I can't get any pipe cleaners and the thin wire I have is no good. I'm planning to use dry baby wipes as filters.

But the best thing I have is a ski cowl, it's made of a very thin stretchy nylon type fabric and I just pull it up over my nose and mouth. It doesn't get too hot but it's very tight fitting and secure.

I think I will wear a mask to go shopping as the supermarkets are bound to get busier once lockdown ends, atvleas I will reduce the risk of infecting other people and I hope it will reduce my anxiety about going out again.

France People using public transport must wear a mask or be fined. Everyone is sewing making them by hand or machine. Templates are on the web with suggestions on what material to use and washing after four hours. If your glasses are steaming up, it means they are not fitting well, a gadget can be bought to sort the problem out. These masks are only to help stop you infecting others. If everyone wore one they say that the infection rate will be slower.

The WHO didn’t recommend a lot of things. If they’d told China to close it’s borders months ago we wouldn’t have a pandemic now. They didn’t tell people the virus was airborne until they realised how contagious it was. I’m not going to not wear a mask just because they don’t advise it (although I did think they had: must look that up).

I only wear a mask in shops. As soon as I exit the shop I take it off. Like Tidyskatemjum, my glasses steam up really badly and I'm usually staggering round the shop unable to see anything!

Guidance here is in busy places like public transport or shops but its not compulsory.My OH has done some shopping for us and he wears a mask and gloves ,social distancing in some shops is non existent according to my son who tells my OH to call him if we run out of anything .I did hear a silly woman on the Jeremy Vine show tell the country that as Nicola Sturgeon suggested it she wont be doing it because she didn't vote for Nicola ....maybe Angela from Edinburgh is on here ...

MayBe70- the actual efficacy of masks is contentious. The WHO didn't recommend them. Personally, outwith health and social care settings I think their use is more psychological for the wearer than anything else.

Some countries have done really well. I'm not sure how they've achieved it.

By the way, no one seems to be mentioning a Portugal. They seem to have contained the pandemic incredibly well with a very low death rate. They seem to advocate the wearing of masks.

Jane 10: just because you think you’re not a risk to others doesn’t mean you aren’t. How do you feel about someone who is a risk to you not bothering to wear a mask thereby infecting you. Not everyone has a cough at first, and if someone does cough or sneeze it can travel quite a distance. If we can all save lives by wearing a mask we must do it.

It's compulsory here in Germany and I've been shopping twice with them. Once with a paper one which kept riding up and covering my eyes, and today with a cloth one (we were offered some by someone who was making them). The cloth one kept slipping down. I will have to put a tuck in the elastic.

The worst was at the hairdresser's earlier in the week. The snippets of hair got under the mask, it got wet when she washed it and I had to take it down when she cut the back of my head.

I wash them hot and iron them when they've been used once.

I've had to go out shopping throughout. No mask but I do wear disposable gloves, which I remove after I get home, wash thoroughly and wipe down all shopping with disinfectant. I don't have a cough or cold and don't think I'm a risk to other shoppers. I keep my distance from them too.

More and more people will have to venture to the store due to increasing delivery cost- The minimum order price was raised to 35 dollars + 4 dollar service fee + tip-

The programs being used aren't keeping up with inventory either- Sometimes it indicates something is out of stock but is not and sometimes indicates an item is in stock and is not-

One problem was evident just now on the BBC News. The reporter from Wales had a mask tan. Not a good look!

I find a scarf of the tube variety easy to use and surprisingly my specs don't mist up. I've worn one for years anyway in cold weather. I can't see how I can fit a mask elastic behind my ears as that space is full of hearing aid and specs earpieces.

Felice in supermarkets and public transport, also disposable gloves in supermarkets, this according to my fb friends in France and Italy. Where are you?