I question how effective masks etc are as worn by the public. Most people don't have correctly fitted surgical masks which are effective at significantly reducing transmission, instead they use paper or cloth ones. They also reuse masks without washing at a high temperature inbetween. I cannot believe a damp mask taken off and folded up to put in a pocket then put back on in, say, 10 minutes is effective and suspect it's worse than useless because if the user has the virus it's now all over their hands which they will use to touch things. Plus the virus is smaller than the weave of many masks, and most masks it too badly to do much. I think they're a symbol and just make people feel like they're doing something, and by making them feel safer they probably do less of the more effective measures.
Coronavirus
- Thread starter Trewsers
- Start date
Absolutely this! Wearing masks makes people feel like that are able to take proactive steps to stop this virus and by placing the responsibility to wear masks on the general public, the government are making people feel like they have some sort of power to stop the virus. It therefore becomes our responsibility and less of their problem. It's everyones problems, but I doubt that making kids wear masks in schools makes any difference at all, apart from create anxiety and hinder learning.
I have a wide selection of masks and wear them once and wash at high temp and i still self distance 2m if i can. I avoid supermarkets, we are still getting our food delivered in apart from bits and pieces I pick up in small shops or those where they do seem to be concerned about safety.
Have had a few meals out but only at places that i trust to do it right. I prefer to just ride and walk the dogs and read books
Have had a few meals out but only at places that i trust to do it right. I prefer to just ride and walk the dogs and read books
Nothing has really changed for me, nor the thousands of other immune compromised people who despite vaccine are still extremely vulnerable. 
I never stopped wearing a mask or social distancing, I’ve still not been out anywhere and I’ve still not met up with friends indoors, most of whom have given up asking (who can blame them) it’s not as easy for some of us as just ‘learning to live with it’ I’ve got a new normal for me that I’m ok with for now, but it’s taken a while to accept my old carefree life is gone.
I don’t trust this government to do anything that’s right or morally correct, so I do what feels right for me.
With regard to masks, they never should have stopped mandatory masks in public places, personally I can’t see why people have such a massive issue with wearing them, but each to their own I guess.
I never stopped wearing a mask or social distancing, I’ve still not been out anywhere and I’ve still not met up with friends indoors, most of whom have given up asking (who can blame them) it’s not as easy for some of us as just ‘learning to live with it’ I’ve got a new normal for me that I’m ok with for now, but it’s taken a while to accept my old carefree life is gone.
I don’t trust this government to do anything that’s right or morally correct, so I do what feels right for me.
With regard to masks, they never should have stopped mandatory masks in public places, personally I can’t see why people have such a massive issue with wearing them, but each to their own I guess.
Unless your child lives with an immune suppressed mum or dad or sibling? Or the teacher/ special needs support / caretaker/ dinner lady etc is or has a family member who is?
It’s not as black and white as you seem to think, yes I agree some children might become anxious if they have to wear a mask, but some children live every school day with the very real fear they may kill someone they love if they take COVID home to them.
Nope, masks have been proven, even cloth ones, to reduce transmission in enclosed spaces. And while I always wear a mask I also am meticulous about the other measures.
My children both caught covid at school and brought it home. Myself and my husband then caught it too (despite being double jabbed) and we had to be careful to keep away from vulnerable parents. It has taken me at least 7 weeks to start feeling better, so I do know the dangers. The school have never dropped the masks, so my boys have been wearing them since September. Despite this, over 50% of my son's class went down with it, and 70% of the kids on the bus were off with it. They all called it the COVID bus.
While I agree that the more robust masks will offer some protection, I am skeptical about the paper or cloth ones. If you observe a bunch of teenagers wearing them (almost all thin paper ones), you will see that almost none of them wear them properly. Their noses poke out, they are constantly coming on and off, and all it really does it encourage the kids to touch the faces. Plus they are always pinging them off each other. All this mask interference obviously increases the likelihood of covid getting on their hands and spreading that way. In addition, very few kids wear fresh masks daily so what they are doing is putting old and dirty masks on day after day. Unless you throw the mask away after wearing it (or washing at high degrees) the re-using of masks increases transmission because if they have the virus it will go from their mask to their coat pocket/bag etc. And that is without thinking of all the other problems about covering your face.
My youngest is now mask exempt due to having panic attacks due to the feeling of not being able to breathe. It has a huge effect on him. Obviously covid is important, but the mental health of our children also needs to be considered. All in all, I do think that schools should just drop them.
@Kite_Rider there seem to be so many research papers published on masks that you can now find one to say pretty much anything. But they all depend on masks being worn and used properly, and also on other methods not being reduced - a walk around any shop or town local to me shows this clearly isn't the case, there seems to be an air of wearing a mask badly makes people safe so they take fewer precautions. As for people having an issue wearing them, well I can only say that at lunchtime I put one on to go into a shop and a couple of hours later I'm still wheezing and using my asthma inhaler. I genuinely struggle with them and earlier in the year I had to stop wearing one because my asthma was out of control as a result. No mask and after a few weeks it returned to it's usual level whereby as long as I take my daily inhaler I have almost no problems and reliever inhalers go out of date before they run out. Now maybe you think that's nothing or just making a fuss, but to me it was a very real and at times worrying problem.
All you are saying is that you dont benefit from wearing a mask. But that is the same for everyone. It is other people we need to take care of.
If you cant wear a mask, then dont shop? We havent been in a shop since March 2020 because we know there will be people like you.
If you cant wear a mask, then dont shop? We havent been in a shop since March 2020 because we know there will be people like you.
I’m not trying to say anyone should have to suffer from wearing a mask either children or adults with breathing/ anxiety or any other issue. For the most part they cause no problems, I just wish that people who wear them or don’t could be less black and white about it that’s all. I’m going to bow out of this thread now as I don’t wish to offend and clearly I have, that was never my intention.
So how do you suggest I get food shopping (human and horse) Skib? That's about all the shopping I've done for a long time, but in a rural area it isn't always easy to get deliveries and if people start worrying about the virus and scrabbling for what slots there are then getting deliveries becomes even harder - not to mention with supplies being odd in shops again then even if we get a delivery we won't get quite a bit of what was ordered and won't get the option of looking for alternatives.
If I could wear a mask without it causing me problems then I would even though I think they are ineffective. For a short period I can get away with a thin scarf over my nose and mouth, but I doubt that's much good apart from keeping other people happy and even that may sometimes leave me needing my inhaler by the end of a weekly shop. I am double vaccinated and have a booster booked, I maintain social distances (I love them!) and still avoid busy places whenever I can. I do meet people at the yard, but that's outside and while we've had a couple of unrelated cases of Covid it doesn't seem to have passed to others according to the LFTs that have been done. I suspect that like last time we're going to end up with lockdown regardless of what people do.
As a secondary school teacher with a specialism in special educational needs, I've been repeatedly amazed at how unphased the students have been and colleagues at different schools have said the same. Yes there are some who have struggled and I hope they have been reassured and supported appropriately but most have not had any difficulty with or sterilising desks etc. Some do use it to help with low level disruption - it's almost impossible to tell who is chatting in a room full of masks and the same students who push other rules like uniform, will try wearing them in weird and wonderful ways, but that's just children! A lot do gain huge comfort from the fact that they are 'protecting' their families. The impact on speech, language and communication is significant and concerning but schools should be making reasonable adjustments for their cohort and specific individuals.
I would say that more adults wear masks incorrectly than children and object more to them. Scarves pulled up over noses and unwashed material masks aren't going to be the best form of protection no. However, I am also a hospital teacher so my team follow the NHS policies for infection control. We wear paper masks throughout the day, only staff who work in theatre or on Red wards or similar have fitted surgical masks.
There are no answers really, everyone just does what they feel to be right based on the evidence they have. I personally wear a mask for most of the time I am out of the house. I keep my distance and avoid crowded places but then I always did!
I would say that more adults wear masks incorrectly than children and object more to them. Scarves pulled up over noses and unwashed material masks aren't going to be the best form of protection no. However, I am also a hospital teacher so my team follow the NHS policies for infection control. We wear paper masks throughout the day, only staff who work in theatre or on Red wards or similar have fitted surgical masks.
There are no answers really, everyone just does what they feel to be right based on the evidence they have. I personally wear a mask for most of the time I am out of the house. I keep my distance and avoid crowded places but then I always did!
I still think wearing a mask, distancing, limiting mass gatherings, and getting vaccinated are effective measures to limit the possibility of covid infection. It's been 2 years since the outbreak of the virus, and I'm too tired if this situation persists
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It's a shame wearing masks in shops, theatres etc was dropped at all.
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