Masks to be worn in shops

[right-then-petal]

As From 24th Masks To Be Worn In Shops Or Face A £100 Fine

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-53397617

[right-then-petal]

[the_ottavio]

Is the government going to provide them for free, like in France, Italy and Austria?

[m25jet]

If the government had implemented that policy at the start of the crisis, rather than waiting until we're over halfway through the year to start doing it, then maybe the coronavirus death toll in the UK would have been lower by this point than it is now.  I doubt if they'll start giving face masks away for free - we'll no doubt be expected to buy our own, so don't be surprised if there's a sudden spike in the number of cases of sellers selling face masks on eBay at extortionate prices as a result.

[fallen-archie]

Come on who needs to buy a mask when you can make one? Nothing is for free, so I don’t expect to pay for everyone else to conform to the law! As for hindsight, yet again we have an ample amount of folks suggesting that we should have always worn a mask, why if we were all self isolating? Too many experts not enough common sense!

[upthecreekyetagain]

Agreed and, if wearing a mask is such an obvious thing to do, why do we need compulsion for it to happen?

[ruby*tuesday]

I have bought a Chiffon Scarf, which i can wear round my neck and quickly pull up over my face when I go Shopping. Yet it is ok to walk into a heaving Pub without a Mask ???? Am I missing something here?

[*guinevere*]

I had a hospital appointment today and I had been chatting to the doctor for a good five minutes, me with my disposable mask on and he with his almost-completely-covering his -face-mask, plus visor, and I had to ask who he was! When he told me I realised he was one of my usual doctors who I've see many a time but I just couldn't make out who the heck he was!

Does anyone else foresee an increase in criminal activity when these masks become manadatory everywhere? Just think. Rob a till, snatch a handbag. Description? 'Oh, er they were wearing a blue coloured mask, officer'.

[m25jet]

If it's going to be compulsory for people to wear a facemask whenever they go into a shop, I wonder if the same conditions will be imposed on the employers and employees of such premises?  Over the past week I've seen a sudden increase in the rise of people wearing facemasks since the lockdown restrictions were eased, yet I still haven't seen a single person working in any of the shops or supermarkets I've been to - whether it be shelf stackers, cashiers, Customer Service staff, etc - wearing a facemask!  Is there something in the small print somewhere that states that the employers and employees of shops are exempt from the rule?  They could just as easily spread Covid19 to the customers who are going into the shops if they've come into contact with the virus but are not yet exhibiting any visible or audible symptoms of the disease, so surely they ought to be wearing facemasks as well?

[suzieseaside]

I don't think so. Very difficult and uncomfortable in this heat to wear a mask solidly for 8 hours, but it's something that the public can do for the relatively short time they are in a shop.

Creeky - why do we need compulsion if it's common sense? Because 1) some people are stupid and 2) some people are selfish and just don't care, probably because they don't think it will make them very ill and they don't care about others. Protesting in London at the weekend saying they refuse to wear a mask ..... Hope they are fined.

Higher crime rate Guinevere? I don't know but if wearing a face covering is allowable because of someone's religion, a pandemic seems a very good reason to me. I don't see that normally honest people will turn to crime because they are less recognisable. As for being more likely to get away with it because of wearing a mask, the police don't bother about lots of crime even when there are clear images on cctv or witnesses.. They don't care about relatively petty crime, or don't have the manpower to deal with it.

[m25jet]

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@suzieseaside wrote:
I don't think so. Very difficult and uncomfortable in this heat to wear a mask solidly for 8 hours, but it's something that the public can do for the relatively short time they are in a shop.

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It may be difficult and uncomfortable to do it for eight hours at a time, but several NHS employees, particularly those working in ITU and other areas of the hospital where they regularly come into contact with patients either suspected of having Covid19 or confirmed as actually having Covid19 have had to do it every day for the duration of their time at work since this whole thing started.  If it's possible to do it in one profession then why should employees in other professions be exempt from having to do so?  Covid19 can be caught or spread anywhere, not just in hospitals where sick patients are likely to be.  If we all make a collective effort to prevent the spread of the disease - whether employer, employee or customer - then we may well see an end to this living nightmare sooner than will otherwise probably end up being the case if the majority of people start taking the attitude of "Well, you can stuff that - I'm not wearing a facemask for eight hours at a time whilst I'm at work!"

[suzieseaside]

Of course doctors and nurses have had to wear them throughout their shifts, their situation is much more risky and you can't social distance when dealing with patients.

I think that with your reasoning, which is fine and perhaps all shop workers should wear them, but if so would it then not be logical for pubs and restaurants to remain closed since you can't eat or drink while wearing a mask?

People suffer in a failing economy too and it seems to me that all we can do is the best that we can while trying to get back some kind of normality. Just as worrying is delayed treatments for other illnesses like cancer while the world focuses mainly on the pandemic.

Every individual death is a tragedy and Covid19 is a particularly nasty illness for some who can suffer long term negative health effects even if they get through it, but other flu outbreaks have caused higher than average excess winter deaths. Average is apparently about 26,000 but in winter 2014/15 there were 44,000 excess winter deaths due to flu when the winter vaccine wasn't very effective. Deaths from covid 19 are higher yes, but not an order of magnitude higher and no higher than flu deaths back in the 50s and 60s (I think but would have to check on that).

So what do we do? We can't stay in lockdown forever. I will wear a mask where required and I won't be going to pubs in my town now full of tourists getting drunk and unable to social distance. Tourists are a big risk imo. Not a single supermarket employee here has had covid 19 since the start although several had similar symptoms (as did I) and were quite ill back in December and January. We are told that must have been a different flu but I'm not convinced.

[aernethril]

Yes - you can't drink with a face mask on, so since we must protect the hospitality industry, you don't wear a mask in the pub or restaurant.

Unless of course you can make a mask with a valve into which you can shove a straw and sip your cider that way.

No crips tho

[suzieseaside]

😁 aha the future looks bright - banks of drips in pubs and restaurant meals liquidised and sucked through a straw! Lovely!

[suzieseaside]

Good idea aern, already done , no fancy valve but a flap. Simple but must be more effective than none.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/21/us/mask-drink-covered-coronavirus-trnd/index.html

[vamo48]

Yes, I was beginning to think I was the only one who thought what a gift they are to criminals!  They've already tried it in our local Currys, but they were too stupid to realise the display phones etc were all anchored firmly to the counter!  Think they got away with one tablet, probably broken

[*guinevere*]

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@suzieseaside wrote:



Higher crime rate Guinevere? I don't know but if wearing a face covering is allowable because of someone's religion, a pandemic seems a very good reason to me. I don't see that normally honest people will turn to crime because they are less recognisable. As for being more likely to get away with it because of wearing a mask, the police don't bother about lots of crime even when there are clear images on cctv or witnesses.. They don't care about relatively petty crime, or don't have the manpower to deal with it.

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I don't think wearing a mask will make more people turn to crime, but it will be a very convenient accessory for people who are already that way inclined to legitimately disguise their faces whilst shoplifting, handbag snatching and other low level crimes.

[cee-dee]

It won't make people "turn" to crime, those that are already petty criminals will take advantage.

[the_ottavio]

Plenty of people not wearing masks at local Tesco Metro, B&M and Iceland yesterday and nobody challenging them. Same story on public transport. Local night clubs have reopened and youngsters queueing outside, already drunk and obviously not social distancing, nobody with a mask in sight. This was in central Birmingham, not Ibiza.