Main Coronavirus / Covid-19 Discussion Thread

[Fat Boy Fat]

I'm not trying to convince you to change, I'm just curious when people who are currently self-restricting will relieve themselves of this new way of life... or whether they have just accepted into the belief that this is the way that life is going to be for them now.

There you go again, you are right, the vulnerable are wrong. I have had enough of your total lack of empathy and have now blocked you so I don't have to read anymore of these unsympathetic posts.

 

[Fat Boy Fat]

That’s not living it’s existing, I would ask yourself why are you doing that if you are double jabbed and if you are not vulnerable or living with someone who is.

Covid won’t go away it’s here forever.

*Just see your other post, fair enough and all the best.*

100% agree it's no life, but it is living. We get out and do what we can, but living in a household with 3 CEV people is very challenging, to say the least.

We have had a panic this week as I have developed symptoms that could have been Covid, but multiple tests tell me it's not.

Scares the life out of you when you realise how easy it is to come into contact, with limited exposure, to something that could kill...

 

[Bozza]

North Stand concourse - not a mask in sight.
My trip to the supermarket in the last hour - I was the only mask-wearer, staff happily not bothering and in close proximity to each other.
A packed train journey back from London 6pm last Friday - not one mask-wearer.

I think [MENTION=7]Mustafa[/MENTION] may represent the overwhelming majority who're now leading lives to all intents as they were two years ago.

I visited three shops today...

Pets at Home - all staff and customers, bar one, were wearing masks.
Sainsbury's - not sure I saw any.staff, but 90% of customers were wearing masks. This was middle of the day though and I was probably the youngest person in the shop.
Tesco - maybe slightly lower than the above, say 80-85% in masks.

(Also the GP for the flu jab where, unsurprisingly, everyone was wearing a mask).

Unless you have a medical exemption, I don't understand why someone wouldn't wear one. It costs you almost nothing and may, just may, keep someone out of hospital and alive. You'll never know that, of course, but I'm not sure why anyone needs visible proof to do the right thing.

I wear a mask every time I'm in a shop. That's abbot two hours a week. That's about 1.2% of my time. It's not a hardship really, is it?

 

[Weststander]

I visited three shops today...

Pets at Home - all staff and customers, bar one, were wearing masks.
Sainsbury's - not sure I saw any.staff, but 90% of customers were wearing masks. This was middle of the day though and I was probably the youngest person in the shop.
Tesco - maybe slightly lower than the above, say 80-85% in masks.

(Also the GP for the flu jab where, unsurprisingly, everyone was wearing a mask).

Unless you have a medical exemption, I don't understand why someone wouldn't wear one. It costs you almost nothing and may, just may, keep someone out of hospital and alive. You'll never know that, of course, but I'm not sure why anyone needs visible proof to do the right thing.

I wear a mask every time I'm in a shop. That's abbot two hours a week. That's about 1.2% of my time. It's not a hardship really, is it?

Obviously a mixed picture, Aldi Portslade, Lidl Goldstone Ground, Sainsbury’s West Hove - 25% wearing masks. Staff never over the last 18 months … what’s that about? Why didn’t supermarket employers give a damn? In Aldi Portslade some folk in their 20’s and 30’s, ‘MMA wannabes’ or builders never did, even in Wave 1 and Wave 2. A nsc’er described that in Worthing as types hoping to make eye contact, looking for a row.

I was tempted to jack it in now, based on few others bothering. Chris Whitty mentioned at this week’s press conference that we all should. I trust him/they, so I’ll carry on.

 

[e77]

Seeing as you don't understand why people don't wear masks, I can only offer you my personal reasons why I don't wear one.

- It's uncomfortable. Yep, it's not reason enough not to wear one. But it is a reason none the less. I hate wearing them. It's stuffy and awkward and not kind to your face, or your wellbeing.

- It's symbolic of the dystopian year of 2020. Mask wearing is dystopian and symbolic of a sick society. It is not good for social or individual wellbeing. It has psychological implications.

- It's no longer required. We are not currently in the position where we need to supress cases anymore. For now at least.

- It makes people, as in people other than the mask wearer, happier if others aren't wearing one. Whether it's those who rely on facial expressions to communicate, or just people in general.

- It's not good for the environment. Whether it's the disposable type you see littered everywhere, or the fabric one that you swear you haven't been reuusing every day and put in the wash instead, it's not good.

I haven't worn a mask since freedom day... and in a strange way it's been one of the best and most liberating periods of my life.

I know you aren't breaking any laws but they are all very soft reasons for not wearing one.

 

[Cotton Socks]

Coronaphobia

I'm sorry but that 'name' of 'Coronaphobia' is quite frankly, a complete load of crap. Health anxiety is a recognised condition that is not to be made light of. Yes Covid may have exacerbated peoples symptoms who have health anxiety but 'Coronaphobia' is not a mental health issue. From literally a few pages in from the start of this thread people were worried & people were taking the p**s out of people who were worried. In exasperation I have even said some things myself that may have seemed very dismissive of peoples fears (sorry). To say that people being worried about Covid is a mental health issue, is not fair or right. This is an unprecedented time, you cannot give people, what is essentially a mental health issue label (just by the use of phobia tagged onto he end labels it as irrational), because they are worried.
Personally I go by the rules of the time & I don't really care if others don't. I wear masks when I feel I should (even if it's not mandatory) & feel bad if I forget (when it's not mandatory). Does wearing a mask make any difference to my life? No!
I felt sorry for my kid who's been home schooled & then had to wear a mask all day in school when they eventually went back.
I'm not home schooling, I can go to the pub & football, I can see my friends & relatives. People have made their decisions of whether to have the vaccine or not, you can't persuade people who've had it to change their stance. People who are hesitant will have to make their own minds up. I don't think there are many people on here who haven't made their minds up. You can't say that people who are worried about it have a mental health issue. No I didn't read further than the 1st paragraph of those links as they are patronising and dismissive. You won't get peer reviewed psychology papers for a couple of months yet. At the moment it's just like everything Covid related.. guesswork.

 

[e77]

A phobia is an irrational fear. Being scared of something that has killed 4.55 million people globally in the last couple of years isn't irrational.

 

[Bozza]

Seeing as you don't understand why people don't wear masks, I can only offer you my personal reasons why I don't wear one.

- It's uncomfortable. Yep, it's not reason enough not to wear one. But it is a reason none the less. I hate wearing them. It's stuffy and awkward and not kind to your face, or your wellbeing.

- It's symbolic of the dystopian year of 2020. Mask wearing is dystopian and symbolic of a sick society. It is not good for social or individual wellbeing. It has psychological implications.

- It's no longer required. We are not currently in the position where we need to supress cases anymore. For now at least.

- It makes people, as in people other than the mask wearer, happier if others aren't wearing one. Whether it's those who rely on facial expressions to communicate, or just people in general.

- It's not good for the environment. Whether it's the disposable type you see littered everywhere, or the fabric one that you swear you haven't been reuusing every day and put in the wash instead, it's not good.

I haven't worn a mask since freedom day... and in a strange way it's been one of the best and most liberating periods of my life.

f) I'm selfish. I can see no direct benefit to me, and everyone else can go **** themselves.

 

[Billy the Fish]

north stand concourse - not a mask in sight.
My trip to the supermarket in the last hour - i was the only mask-wearer, staff happily not bothering and in close proximity to each other.
A packed train journey back from london 6pm last friday - not one mask-wearer.

I think [mention=7]mustafa[/mention] may represent the overwhelming majority who're now leading lives to all intents as they were two years ago.

i think you are correct. Which ironically makes mandatory wearing of face covering more of a possibility later on.

Or my theory is correct that vaccines are doing the vast majority of the work and the effect of masks is insignificant in comparison.


[tweet]1438534846821900292[/tweet]

 

[e77]

That's a bit like saying - there are millions roadside fatalities in the world, so it's not irrational to be scared of being in a car.

If you have been double vaccinated - unless you are very old, or very unwell, then doing anything other than living your life normally is an irrational fear.

Dystychiphobia (as part of the service I looked it up) is an entirely rational fear of being in an accident. We mitigate this by taking precautions to avoid accidents such as not having pedestrians on Motorways and low speed limits by schools.

In other words an example of big government interference in the cause of public safety.

 

[e77]

Or my theory is correct that vaccines are doing the vast majority of the work and the effect of masks is insignificant in comparison.


[tweet]1438534846821900292[/tweet]

Sure, I'm alright jack so won't wear a face covering that might protect other people.

Understood.

 

[Billy the Fish]

Sure, I'm alright jack so won't wear a face covering that might protect other people.

Understood.

They don't need protecting if they've had a vaccine! There's too many might's involved that we wouldn't give a second thought to at any other point in history.

Might protect someone on the off chance that I've got asymptomatic covid and I happen to breathe out aerosol particles in their vicinity. (but nowhere near the protection of the vaccine which I've done, how selfless of me!)

Question to any of the mask wearers on this thread who keep playing the guilt card: how many of you are wearing the proper N95/FFP3 that's proven to filter aerosol particles?

If you are fair play, I take my hat off to you. If not, why haven't you gone the extra distance to protect the vulnerable?

 

[Machiavelli]

It has no direct benefit for anyone at the moment.

Once cases are at a concerning level again, then of course, I will start wearing one.

Jeez. You've contributed some libertarian explanations on here, which is what we have to endure. But this one's pretty clueless. Why don't you share with us the average daily case count at present, back in January this year, and at the height of the first wave?

 

[Machiavelli]

Why would anyone make any kind of comparison between an immune population and one that isn't?

They're entirely different scenarios. These kinds of infection rates would have been disastrous at the same time last year, but for an immune population they're of little to no concern.

That's an entirely different point to the one that you made in the previous post. The case count and the death count remain at concerning levels. Note that this is before the effects of the return to schools kicks in (I know of a fair few cases at my child's school), before universities start teaching, and before we increasingly gravitate indoors. It's going to be a fractious winter, with the death count well above the average. All of this might suggest that the population is not immune.

 

[e77]

They don't need protecting if they've had a vaccine! There's too many might's involved that we wouldn't give a second thought to at any other point in history.

Might protect someone on the off chance that I've got asymptomatic covid and I happen to breathe out aerosol particles in their vicinity. (but nowhere near the protection of the vaccine which I've done, how selfless of me!)

Question to any of the mask wearers on this thread who keep playing the guilt card: how many of you are wearing the proper N95/FFP3 that's proven to filter aerosol particles?

If you are fair play, I take my hat off to you. If not, why haven't you gone the extra distance to protect the vulnerable?

I am no expert on industrial respirator masks but I believe you need to go on a course to put them on properly and you can only wear them for short periods so they aren't suitable for mass use by the general public in everyday life.

I have been asked, not ordered, to continue to wear a mask in certain situations. By doing this I am reducing the risk, not eliminating entirely because nothing does that, of spreading infection if I get unlucky and catch this. In my own small way I am protecting the NHS and making mandatory face covering less likely.

What you are doing makes mandatory face covering happening again more likely and if it does get to that stage again you will be the first to moan about it.

You not wearing a face covering when it is still optional doesn't do this.

Not really that difficult.

 

[Billy the Fish]

I am no expert on industrial respirator masks but I believe you need to go on a course to put them on properly and you can only wear them for short periods so they aren't suitable for mass use by the general public in everyday life.

I have been asked, not ordered, to continue to wear a mask in certain situations. By doing this I am reducing the risk, not eliminating entirely because nothing does that, of spreading infection if I get unlucky and catch this. In my own small way I am protecting the NHS and making mandatory face covering less likely.

What you are doing makes mandatory face covering happening again more likely and if it does get to that stage again you will be the first to moan about it.

You not wearing a face covering when it is still optional doesn't do this.

Not really that difficult.

The bold bit is a copout. Look, I've found you some and they're not expensive or complicated. It just needs to be a tight fit to stop you breathing through the gaps and taking in the lingering aerosols (something I see many mask wearers do)

https://www.ukmeds.co.uk/hygiene-face-mask-ffp3-n99

There's a further caveat to what you've said, it's only reducing risk if you catch it and are asymptomatic. Everyone with symptoms is still getting a test and isolating, surely.

I'm also helping the NHS by having a vaccine, I'm less likely to catch and spread covid and less likely to go to hospital. This is proven by numerous studies, a tonne of data with no caveats or human error in the process. Sadly for me this isn't overtly visible so I can't show it off to others (if I was that way inclined) to prove how much I care.

 

[atomised]

If I were to offer an observation on mask wearing out in the wild since freedom Day, the majority who I see wearing masks and I put the figure of this at around 70%, are wearing them in a very half hearted fashion either around their chin or only covering their mouths

 

[Guinness Boy]

If I were to offer an observation on mask wearing out in the wild since freedom Day, the majority who I see wearing masks and I put the figure of this at around 70%, are wearing them in a very half hearted fashion either around their chin or only covering their mouths

Interesting comparison yesterday in town. Went out to do some shopping. Had a look for a book in Waterstones. Every single customer had a mask on including me. An older, educated demographic. Moseyed in to Size to look at trainers. Full of younger people and not one single mask between them. On to the Whisky Shop in East St. He has a very polite sign asking people to carry on wearing a mask. I did. He did.

Mask refusers seem to overwhelmingly be people who either believe themselves to be immortal or see a polite request from a fellow human being as infringing on their human rights.

 

[atomised]

Interesting comparison yesterday in town. Went out to do some shopping. Had a look for a book in Waterstones. Every single customer had a mask on including me. An older, educated demographic. Moseyed in to Size to look at trainers. Full of younger people and not one single mask between them. On to the Whisky Shop in East St. He has a very polite sign asking people to carry on wearing a mask. I did. He did.

Mask refusers seem to overwhelmingly be people who either believe themselves to be immortal or see a polite request from a fellow human being as infringing on their human rights.

It's odd. I'm sat on a bus now. Those not wearing or wearing incorrectly are the elderly and middle aged. It's such a mixed bag of compliance right now

 

[Bozza]

It's curious how the "people aren't wearing masks properly" line only seems to come from those determined not to wear a mask themselves, as if their observation justifies their own position.

It's like they believe two wrongs do actually make a right.