Lockdown Imminent

[Crippo]

When this stupid virus kicked off in March, face masks were discussed at length and the general consensus was that they did almost nothing to prevent the spread of disease. Only Medical grade masks were of noticeable effect. More over face masks were deemed to be more likely to spread the virus as people fiddled with them or kept removing them. So they are a stupid placebo that anyone with my level of reasonable intelligence can see straight through.
It really doesn’t say much for the general whit of people on this forum or especially the 61% who can’t see that the Government is crapping itself about what it has inflicted on this Country and the economy and that there is a serious risk that the country will be bankrupt before next year is out. The mask wearing is a nothing more than a way of de-escalating the crisis and fear, they want you out spending money....it’s not going to work.
I’m furious about it......especially as I knew this would happen and said so in March, then again in April and in May and in June and now I’m saying it again..... the Uk have mishandled this badly.

[GSE]

I'll wear a mask on public transport locations, but any establishment that expects me to conform as in that photo above, i simply won't go. I drove past 3 pubs in my village tonight with plenty of people outside enjoying themselves. No a single mask worn. Good.

[OzzyR1]

Frank7 said:

PeteinSQ said:

If you can take your mask off in a restaurant or bar then why on earth should you have to wear one anywhere else? It's just not joined up at all.

I’m not taking the pi$$ Pete, my hand to God, but I was in Hatton Garden this week, and while waiting to pick up a piece of jewellery, I went into a Costa Coffee, (wearing a mask).
I ordered a double espresso, took it to the ledge running along the inside of the front window, removed my mask, drank the coffee, replaced the mask, threw the cup in the trash, said thanks, and left the café.
All seemed normal to me, I picked up the jewellery piece, hailed a taxi and went home.

Was it a black cab? From what I recall you live south of the river - how did you persuade the guy to cross it?

Do you have signals like the black rat stickers traffic police used to use on their civilian cars, or is it something more subtle?

Pulling your leg as I hope you know!!

Out of curiosity though, did you tip the bloke and if so, how much? I always thought 10% was the etiquette (or 25% if they gave you a handful of blank receipts for expenses), but please correct me if I'm wrong.

[Wills2]

mx5nut said:

Wills2 said:

like most of the people I know we're waiting for it to be normal again.

And the longer we take to reduce the spread, the longer we'll be watching countries that did go back to normal while we're all locked away at home refusing to wear a bit of fabric.

You understand that this is here to stay don't you? It isn't going away because you wear a mask however I'm quite happy to reduce the spread by not going to pubs/restaurants/offices/shops etc...to stop the spread as you say.

What I won't do is spend my money under a regime/guidance/rules that I don't find enjoyable or worthwhile....

[anonymous-user]

Wills2 said:

mx5nut said:

Wills2 said:

like most of the people I know we're waiting for it to be normal again.

And the longer we take to reduce the spread, the longer we'll be watching countries that did go back to normal while we're all locked away at home refusing to wear a bit of fabric.

You understand that this is here to stay don't you? It isn't going away because you wear a mask however I'm quite happy to reduce the spread by not going to pubs/restaurants/offices/shops etc...to stop the spread as you say.

What I won't do is spend my money under a regime/guidance/rules that I don't find enjoyable or worthwhile....

Probably just as well. You sound like a right hoot at parties...

[anonymous-user]

Some on this thread no doubt identify with this quote

“Some objections to the (mask) ordinance were based on questions of scientific data while others considered the requirement to infringe on civil liberties”

Shame it’s from the anti mask league of 1918 during the Spanish flu.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Mask_League_of_...

Over 100 years on and people still worried that wearing masks during a pandemic infringes on their civil liberties.

[anonymous-user]

History rhymes.

[Vanden Saab]

Frank7 said:

PeteinSQ said:

If you can take your mask off in a restaurant or bar then why on earth should you have to wear one anywhere else? It's just not joined up at all.

I’m not taking the pi$$ Pete, my hand to God, but I was in Hatton Garden this week, and while waiting to pick up a piece of jewellery, I went into a Costa Coffee, (wearing a mask).
I ordered a double espresso, took it to the ledge running along the inside of the front window, removed my mask, drank the coffee, replaced the mask, threw the cup in the trash, said thanks, and left the café.
All seemed normal to me, I picked up the jewellery piece, hailed a taxi and went home.

So, in taking the mask off you touched your face, then you drank the coffee and then touched your face when you put it on again...
Did you put your mask on the ledge while you drank your coffee?

[OzzyR1]

El stovey said:

Some on this thread no doubt identify with this quote

“Some objections to the (mask) ordinance were based on questions of scientific data while others considered the requirement to infringe on civil liberties”

Shame it’s from the anti mask league of 1918 during the Spanish flu.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Mask_League_of_...

Over 100 years on and people still worried that wearing masks during a pandemic infringes on their civil liberties.

Disingenuous to say the least, Covid19 and the Spanish flu are not comparable.

I'm not anti-mask either, wore one today.

[Frank7]

OzzyR1 said:

Was it a black cab? From what I recall you live south of the river - how did you persuade the guy to cross it?

Do you have signals like the black rat stickers traffic police used to use on their civilian cars, or is it something more subtle?

Pulling your leg as I hope you know!!

Out of curiosity though, did you tip the bloke and if so, how much? I always thought 10% was the etiquette (or 25% if they gave you a handful of blank receipts for expenses), but please correct me if I'm wrong.

Of course it was a Black Cab, that’s all I use, and I thought right off that you were pulling my leg.
Black Cab drivers don’t refuse jobs “south of the river”, that practice went out about the same time as tank tops became unfashionable.
Naturally I tipped the guy, I’m old school, I remember when I was out there.
The fare went £15.80, I gave him a score and said just give me £2.00.

[Wills2]

Argleton said:

Probably just as well. You sound like a right hoot at parties...

I'm sure you're riveting...you can always tell the troll on PH, personal attack and no garage.

What big man you are, such a shame but then again that's the internet full of odd little men....

[anonymous-user]

As an aside, if mask wearing becomes compulsory in all social settings as per Balearics this week has anyone tried wearing a mask for prolonged periods?

I have and it wasn’t pleasant. At the start of lockdown I cleared my mums garage out for approximately 5/6 hours and wore a mask due to dust etc.

When removed the area around the nose was red and sore. I certainly wouldn’t want to double that time scale on a daily basis.

Also when exerting yourself you simply don’t get the same oxygenation.

[V8 Stang]

Compulsory masks in shops must surely be suicide for retail. If this happens i will certainly not go into a shop.

Ive just signed up for a Tesco account for if this happens, so i can get my food shopping delivered. Even though i usually walk to my local Tesco which is around 300ft away from my front door......

[steveo3002]

just seems alot of lies to me , when it was at its worst masks were played down and hardly worth it (because there wasnt any) , now the shops have them they're going to save us all?

needs to be some education about wearing them too...fine if its worn and thrown away , but dont stand there rubbing your face and eyes every 3o secs , then stuff it in your pocket for later, can see it making folk think they're invincible too

[Stay in Bed Instead]

V8 Stang said:

Compulsory masks in shops must surely be suicide for retail. If this happens i will certainly not go into a shop.

Looks like Boris is going there though. Hence the many media pictures today with him wearing one.

If it was so important why weren't we told to do so from the commencement of lockdown?

[hutchst]

1974nc said:

As an aside, if mask wearing becomes compulsory in all social settings as per Balearics this week has anyone tried wearing a mask for prolonged periods?

I have and it wasn’t pleasant. At the start of lockdown I cleared my mums garage out for approximately 5/6 hours and wore a mask due to dust etc.

When removed the area around the nose was red and sore. I certainly wouldn’t want to double that time scale on a daily basis.

Also when exerting yourself you simply don’t get the same oxygenation.

I made a presentation a couple of days ago, to a room with around a dozen or so. I'm not a novice at doing this, but first time since maskmania struck. I soon found that I wasn't able to speak continuously while wearing a mask as I could without.

I had to resort to speaking for a couple of minutes, then stopping for a breather, then speaking again, etc... etc...

It's not comfortable and I wouldn't choose to do it. In fact I think I would probably refuse to do it again.

[don'tbesilly]

1974nc said:

As an aside, if mask wearing becomes compulsory in all social settings as per Balearics this week has anyone tried wearing a mask for prolonged periods?

I have and it wasn’t pleasant. At the start of lockdown I cleared my mums garage out for approximately 5/6 hours and wore a mask due to dust etc.

When removed the area around the nose was red and sore. I certainly wouldn’t want to double that time scale on a daily basis.

Also when exerting yourself you simply don’t get the same oxygenation.

There are different types of masks, it sounds to me like the type of mask you wore is not the type of mask that people will be asked/required to wear on a regular basis.

Normal day-day face wearing can be kept to a minimum, you'd have to be a retail maniac to be wearing any mask for the length of time you seem to be using as some kind of comparison to what is the norm for most people whilst shopping.

[jagnet]

1974nc said:

As an aside, if mask wearing becomes compulsory in all social settings as per Balearics this week has anyone tried wearing a mask for prolonged periods?

Yes. Face coverings have been mandated here since mid March, although they were commonplace well before that as people took personal responsibility to minimise transmission rather than wait for government instruction. People just got on with it. There was no complaining about civil liberties, claustrophobia, difficulties holding conversations, worries over training, etc. If any society is going to be tuned into impositions on liberty it's going to be one with recent experience of the worst that authoritarian regimes have to offer, but not a murmur.

There have been so few cases and so few deaths from covid here that the biggest issue now is complacency as four months on very very few people even know anyone that's had covid let alone died from it. One of the more popular conspiracy theories is that covid-19 doesn't exist. Everything is open including mass events but complacency means that mask use is starting to wane.

A cloth mask is not uncomfortable when worn for long periods. There's no oxygen deprivation. Most people won't need to wear the mask for long anyway. Put it on when you're inside and can't distance, take it off when you leave. If you choose to go full on FFP3 mask and subsequently find it uncomfortable, well then you've only got yourself to blame.

I find it strange that in the UK people were fine with being told not to leave their houses unless it was essential, the forced closure of businesses, travel restrictions, being barred from parks and open spaces, police making up their own rules, a third of the working population being paid to sit at home, etc but ask them to pop a face covering on and suddenly everyone's a libertarian. I'd prefer not to wear a mask but if it means that everything else returns to normal that much sooner then it seems to be a very small personal sacrifice.

Imho it was nuts that the UK waited so long to consider their use and even promoted the idea that they achieved nothing and could increase risk of transmission. Hard to do a complete volte-face on that and then expect people to pay heed to it.

For those questioning their efficacy, again I point out that a multivariate analysis of over 190 countries found that duration of mask-wearing by the public was negatively associated with mortality (p<0.001). But then it could just be chance. A 0.1% chance but a chance nonetheless.

[Elysium]

hutchst said:

I made a presentation a couple of days ago, to a room with around a dozen or so. I'm not a novice at doing this, but first time since maskmania struck. I soon found that I wasn't able to speak continuously while wearing a mask as I could without.

I had to resort to speaking for a couple of minutes, then stopping for a breather, then speaking again, etc... etc...

It's not comfortable and I wouldn't choose to do it. In fact I think I would probably refuse to do it again.

I imagine you were also subconsciously compensating for the reality that your voice would be muffled and project less well.

A large number of people who have reasonable hearing struggle to understand speech in noisy environments. I am one of them.

It’s something that relates to speech processing in the brain and is linked to autism (which I fortunately do not have). Those people rely on lip reading to fill in the blanks and will struggle to communicate in a word full of masks.

That’s before you get into those with mild hearing loss, who are not deaf, but again find it difficult to pick out speech without visual clues.

[bitchstewie]

Argleton said:

Crippo said:

Probably could have guessed that people will think not wanting to wear a mask is some political statement. It’s not, I don’t believe we are going to get a vaccine anytime soon. I also think this will be with us for a long time and I also believe that the economy won’t function properly with social distancing, mask wearing and all the hysteria around Covid. Taking all of that I’m resistant to the concept of this New Normal I’m constantly told I have to accept. I believe we have the Mother of all recessions coming down the track and that the entire World is going to be in a horrible place. I also don’t believe that long term we can stop people getting this virus. So my reason for not wanting to wear a mask is not accepting the Governments position that this is a new normal. You accept it if you want to. It’s a free World. I’m not able to just accept rules because my Masters tell me to.
Also I’m not worried about my future, I’m earning more than double my normal rate since Covid. So no I don’t think I’ll not visit my clients, thanks.

It's not all about you though, is it?

Apparently yes.

Anecdotally there seemed to be more people wearing them at the supermarket this morning though I've noticed most of those wearing them seem to be wearing the blue "paper" looking throwaway types of masks.

If this does become mandatory there are some nice designs out there that are reusable so I think concernes of looking like a serial killer are perhaps overdone.

I think "my masters" says all you need to know in the post above.