Lockdown Imminent
Discussion
Elysium said:
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. 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.
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.
I would have supported mandatory masks in public places earlier on, perhaps in exchange with allowing more freedom of movement Nd so on, but to do it now when even Wales is beginning to open up seems daft.
At least I'm less likely to get grief keeping my motorbike helmet on in the petrol station/shop! No doubt some jumped up little Hitler would insist I remove it then immediately re-cover my face...
I've been trying to find a Buff or Bandana with something like a biohazard sign
jagnet said:
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.
This was my experience too. They're a bit of a pain in the arse, but if it means life otherwise goes back to normal then it's a small price to pay. As you say, it's a funny country which is happy to accept lockdown and the largest peacetime removal of liberties in modern history - the laws were actually quite scary as to what restrictions were imposed - and then complain about the wearing of masks to make going outside a little bit safer. 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.
Of equal concern is that there are huge numbers of disposable masks ending up in rivers and oceans. For most people they can use a single use mask over and over again, it's only medical staff who need to worry about it being single use.
Plymo said:
Not just the ability to hear, but the loss of facial expressions as well is a problem! It makes everything a more "sterile" experience and makes it harder to interpret some situations.
I would have supported mandatory masks in public places earlier on, perhaps in exchange with allowing more freedom of movement Nd so on, but to do it now when even Wales is beginning to open up seems daft.
I agree with you.I would have supported mandatory masks in public places earlier on, perhaps in exchange with allowing more freedom of movement Nd so on, but to do it now when even Wales is beginning to open up seems daft.
It's a conundrum. The government wants everyone to go out and spend. They think that making everyone wear masks will make the nervous feel safe.
But it will make libertarians less likely to go out, because they don't want to be forced to wear a face covering.
Will masks be successful in persuading more people to go out? My hunch is no. Will it annoy a lot of people? I think so.
Condi said:
Of equal concern is that there are huge numbers of disposable masks ending up in rivers and oceans. For most people they can use a single use mask over and over again, it's only medical staff who need to worry about it being single use.
Quite, and likely cheaper in the long run with reusable masks. I think my cloth masks were about 4 to 5 euros each and have been used more or less every day for 4 months. No idea how much the disposable ones are each but that'd start adding up quickly with daily use. 
Stay in Bed Instead said:
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.Louis Balfour said:
Plymo said:
Not just the ability to hear, but the loss of facial expressions as well is a problem! It makes everything a more "sterile" experience and makes it harder to interpret some situations.
I would have supported mandatory masks in public places earlier on, perhaps in exchange with allowing more freedom of movement Nd so on, but to do it now when even Wales is beginning to open up seems daft.
I agree with you.I would have supported mandatory masks in public places earlier on, perhaps in exchange with allowing more freedom of movement Nd so on, but to do it now when even Wales is beginning to open up seems daft.
It's a conundrum. The government wants everyone to go out and spend. They think that making everyone wear masks will make the nervous feel safe.
But it will make libertarians less likely to go out, because they don't want to be forced to wear a face covering.
Will masks be successful in persuading more people to go out? My hunch is no. Will it annoy a lot of people? I think so.
sambucket said:
Doesn't seem to be a problem for approx half the world. I
This is a picture of Piazza Navona in Rome, right now. Normally it would be very busy at 10:40. Italy has compulsory mask wearing in shops and public transport. and the country is some months ahead of us.
It doesn't look to me as though people have embraced mask wearing and returned to normality.
A random example I grant you, but you get my point.
Stay in Bed Instead said:
sambucket said:
Doesn't seem to be a problem for approx half the world. I
The average lemming would no doubt agree with you.scorp said:
Stay in Bed Instead said:
sambucket said:
Doesn't seem to be a problem for approx half the world. I
The average lemming would no doubt agree with you.scorp said:
We've been wearing facemasks and using alcohol hand-wash in hk for almost the whole year, consequently there are very few if any covid cases here and there was hardly any lock down needed.
What do you think when you see people here freaking out over masks given the prevalence in many far eastern societies?Louis Balfour said:
sambucket said:
Doesn't seem to be a problem for approx half the world. I
This is a picture of Piazza Navona in Rome, right now. Normally it would be very busy at 10:40. Italy has compulsory mask wearing in shops and public transport. and the country is some months ahead of us.
It doesn't look to me as though people have embraced mask wearing and returned to normality.
A random example I grant you, but you get my point.
hotchy said:
Louis Balfour said:
sambucket said:
Doesn't seem to be a problem for approx half the world. I
This is a picture of Piazza Navona in Rome, right now. Normally it would be very busy at 10:40. Italy has compulsory mask wearing in shops and public transport. and the country is some months ahead of us.
It doesn't look to me as though people have embraced mask wearing and returned to normality.
A random example I grant you, but you get my point.
Im not aure people are "freaking out" over face masks but there's a difference between freaking out and simply not wanting to wear them.
Ultimately it will cause people to think they don't want to be bothered wearing a face mask for some casual retail so they will stay home and go online instead which will kill off highstreet retail as we know it long term.
We are already in a situation where consumers can't go in a clothes shop and try anything on and now they potentially have to wear a face mask to go in a shop too?
Im sure Amazon management and other big online retailers are rubbing their hands right now.
Ultimately it will cause people to think they don't want to be bothered wearing a face mask for some casual retail so they will stay home and go online instead which will kill off highstreet retail as we know it long term.
We are already in a situation where consumers can't go in a clothes shop and try anything on and now they potentially have to wear a face mask to go in a shop too?
Im sure Amazon management and other big online retailers are rubbing their hands right now.
Jamescrs said:
Im not aure people are "freaking out" over face masks but there's a difference between freaking out and simply not wanting to wear them.
Ultimately it will cause people to think they don't want to be bothered wearing a face mask for some casual retail so they will stay home and go online instead which will kill off highstreet retail as we know it long term.
We are already in a situation where consumers can't go in a clothes shop and try anything on and now they potentially have to wear a face mask to go in a shop too?
Im sure Amazon management and other big online retailers are rubbing their hands right now.
I don't want to wear one.Ultimately it will cause people to think they don't want to be bothered wearing a face mask for some casual retail so they will stay home and go online instead which will kill off highstreet retail as we know it long term.
We are already in a situation where consumers can't go in a clothes shop and try anything on and now they potentially have to wear a face mask to go in a shop too?
Im sure Amazon management and other big online retailers are rubbing their hands right now.
But I will if it gets this thing over and done with more quickly than without them.
Personally I'd suggest that terms like "asda police state" are bordering on hysterical.
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