A Question of Masks.

[DulwichFox]

AS from the 24th July, Masks are to be made Compulsory on Public Transport and in Shops.

What about Pubs and Restaurants. I do not want to name any establishment in particular

but one Pub has become Very busy with people in close proximity drinking together Inside and outside.

It would be very difficult for people to be out Eating and Drinking if wearing a mask.

I suppose People do have a choice to risk a visit to the pub but if someone has become infected

it could easily spread in that sort of environment.

Foxy

[Cyclemonkey]

Masks are already compulsary on public transport and have been since mid June. As you say there is a practical issue with masks in pubs and restaurants. In theory you could make people wear them except when they are sitting at their table.

[Sephiroth]

It's about reducing risk - if people are all wearing them in shops and on transport you have reduced the risk

You can't elimate ALL risk

if infections ris after the facemasks then we could be looking at another lockdown (as per other countries)

But what is teh point of the OP? IS it to complain about the masks being compulsory? Or not being universal? It's not clear

[JohnL]

You can't when you drink (the beer needs to go in) - but you could when moving around or going to the loo.

But seeing the news a second spike looks possible and secondary issues are being reported with those infected (the young for instance) - I have a thing about long term issues mind as my dad died at 47 from a long term issue started by Diphtheria as a boy.

[ianr]

> In theory you could make people wear

> them except when they are sitting at

> their table.

Made practice, plus, in Miami-Dade County: https://www.miamidade.gov/releases/2020-07-02-mayor-covid-measures.asp

[DulwichFox]

Cyclemonkey Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Masks are already compulsary on public transport

> and have been since mid June. As you say there is

> a practical issue with masks in pubs and

> restaurants. In theory you could make people wear

> them except when they are sitting at their table.

Yes I know that Masks are supposed to be compulsory on Public Transport. (that is clearly not happening)

I was saying that they now need to be worn in shops and also in Supermarkets.

Why should people sitting at their table be exempt ?

That's where the risk is at its greatest. People laughing and talking out laud.

I do not know the Answer. Perhaps there isn't one.

Seems to of gone very quiet on the subject of a Vaccine.. ?? Wonder why that is ?

Foxy

[JohnL]

There was talk yesterday a vaccine or herd immunity could only last 3 months

That means we're stuck with Covid forever.

[DulwichFox]

Sephiroth Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> It's about reducing risk - if people are all

> wearing them in shops and on transport you have

> reduced the risk

>

> You can't elimate ALL risk

>

> if infections ris after the facemasks then we

> could be looking at another lockdown (as per other

> countries)

>

> But what is teh point of the OP? IS it to complain

> about the masks being compulsory? Or not being

> universal? It's not clear

I'm Not complaining about Masks being Compulsory.

I wear a Mask when I go to the Supermarket and to the shops.

I cannot wear one at the Pub, so I have not been back. I have also Not eaten out.

Takeaways and deliveries only.

Foxy

[Sephiroth]

Fair enough Foxy - was just asking on the back of a lot of people complaining about being forced to wear a mask

[KidKruger]

I don't think the UK society has enough of a sense of collective responsibility to pull this off.

The 'compulsory' face masks on public transport is a great theory not working in practice.

People will always think it doesn't apply to them or they can stretch it a bit due to some or other self-entitlement.

Announcing a forward date for start of compulsory wearing of masks in shops gives (to me) exactly the opposite message that needs to be given - it says that doing so is SO urgent that, actually, we'll start doing it next week.

Several months late surely. From a Govt which said masks were not proven to be effective / have limited effective benefit.

The benefits (or otherwise) of masks have have not just been discovered because of this virus, that knowledge already existed !

[ianr]

> Seems to of gone very quiet

> on the subject of a Vaccine.. ??

> Wonder why that is ?

No mystery. It of gone very Quiet because there is nothing notably new for the media to Trumpet. Researching and developing and testing vaccines tends to be a long and Tedious process. If I were inclined to betting on the development that occasions the next media Flare-up, I think I'd go for an AV drug, or one of the other types of antibody treatment.

[pk]

DulwichFox Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Cyclemonkey Wrote:

> -

> Why should people sitting at their table be exempt

> ?

> That's where the risk is at its greatest. People

> laughing and talking out laud.

>

> I do not know the Answer. Perhaps there isn't one.

>

i guess that eating and drinking isn't really compatible with mask wearing

[Spartacus]

I've just ordered a Darth Vader voice changing mask for trips out to the supermarket.

May not be the best protection but when someone complains the self checkout isn't working I will take great delight in saying "Don't be too proud of this technological terror you've constructed"

[Blah Blah]

lol Spartacus.

On Covid itself, it is going to take around two years to have the required data to determine immunity and lasting damage to those who recover from it. None of this is simple where you have so many protracted tangents, around age, underlying health conditions and the ever present unknowns around mutation. We are only six months into this pandemic, although it may feel like forever already. Vaccines take years, have always taken years, and politicians were wrong to not explain that.

I can understand the desire to give the public hope of a way out, but there also needs to be some honesty around this.

The real indicators will probably come in the Autumn, if there is a second spike, and if those who have previously had the virus and recovered, become ill again. We really do need intensive monitoring of all of this to understand as much as possible. The USA clearly shows that the virus is just as prevalent in Summer seasons, but that social distancing does work to keep infection rates down. In Winter, when people are coughing and sneezing from seasonal colds and chest infections, we will HAVE to ramp up the use of face coverings everywhere if we are going to prevent a significant second wave.

[wordsworth]

I wear one... why wouldn't you?

[binkylilyput]

Is this post meant to be a joke or something?!

How can people eat their meal or drink their drink while wearing a mask?!

[bobbsy]

Just cut a hole in it for a straw...

[Sephiroth]

Once again, we seem to be having an insular debate without reference to rest of the world

It's a global pandemic - most countries dealing well with it use masks without all the pointelss debaites about liberty/but how do I/why should I type questions

[JohnL]

binkylilyput Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Is this post meant to be a joke or something?!

>

> How can people eat their meal or drink their drink

> while wearing a mask?!

The atmosphere isn't going to be very 'pub like'. Unfortunately many of us just prefer to stay at home. Many pubs and restaurants may need to change how they work permanently.

That's the problem the government has in getting the hospitality industry working.

[JohnL]

There was a guy working in a coffee shop just out from prison on Sky News just now -he said working in the coffee shop changed his life.

I don't want to see people like him thrown out of work but I'm also not going to be in coffee houses like I was (twice a day) and if I do I'll be wearing a mask (other than when directly drinking the coffee). This is going to last a lot longer than many people thought so deliveries to home/drinking outside if it's sunny/other options need to be used if this guy and many like him are to stay working.

[Blah Blah]

Anyone who thinks life can return to how it was before is deluded. This is the new reality until we find a medical way to contain this virus. The harsh reality is that any enclosed space where people gather IS going to be different. Some spaces may not be viable under that new reality. It is then up to government to decide who and by how much they subsidise affected sectors. Nightclubs for example, may never reopen in the next few years. This means our economy will have to change. Jobs will have to be created elsewhere. Some may argue that we had become too reliant on the service sector for jobs anyway.

Wearing a face covering is no biggie and I would suggest that anyone moaning about having to do so just isn't seeing the bigger picture. There is a genuine concern that Autumn will see a second wave and although hospitals etc are better prepared now, any second wave is going to be on top of the seasonal flu intake. This would put the NHS under an enormous level of demand and stress that may surpass the peak of the first wave.

My only concern is that shops with door staff/ security will be able to enforce this. Shops that do not have those kinds of personnel may have some problems. Hopefully most people will do the right thing and comply.

[lameduck]

If I have covid

I Would stay at home, But there is a possibility I may be ill and not know.

If i Wear a mask, hopefully I will not give it to you, If you wear a mask you may not get it

or spread it, Why cant we just respect others and look after ourselves, I am asthmatic a mask is a pain.

But sooner suffer an asthmatic mask attack, than covid

[TE44]

Yes lets respect each other, and remember disabled people who are exempt from wearing face masks can easily become targets. The choice of one condition or covid is not as simple for people with multiple health problems.

[NewWave]

My Feeling is (cynical some may say) That the reason the government are making mask wearing mandatory in shops is so that when (not IF, WHEN) we have the 2nd wave because of all the idiots congregating in groups going on their holidays to spain etc etc There won't be another lockdown.

Businesses cannot survive another lockdown therefore they can continue trading during the 2nd wave with the argument that 'staff and customers are wearing masks.

[KidKruger]

NewWave I think the concept of cynicism has been deleted by this Govt !!

It?s now called Realism.