Would You Be In Favour Of Mandatory Mask Wearing Again?

[Albion my Albion]

No!

 

[vegster]

Yes, needs to be mandatory because it has all but disappeared. The alternative will be winter lockdown.

The government have just ruled out a winter lockdown... However, its a real no brainer to wear a mask and mitigate the crisis.

 

[Seagull27]

Yes. I felt very safe whilst in France for two weeks in September. People wore masks even in outdoor markets as they were passing each other in close proximity between stalls.
Masks indoors and on transport were mandatory.

Same in Greece in early October. Mandatory mask wearing in all indoor public spaces, and crowded outdoor spaces. It didn't affect our holiday one bit, it's really the tiniest of inconveniences.

They also have hand sanitiser on every single table at restaurants/bars, which was nice.

 

[Neville's Breakfast]

The government have just ruled out a winter lockdown... However, its a real no brainer to wear a mask and mitigate the crisis.

I think we both know that the Government rules out a lot of things only to change its mind when presented with absolutely no choice 1 in 60 now has the virus and it’s 1 in 50 up here in the NW. Half of over 80s haven’t bothered with their booster and hospitalizations, deaths and infections are on the rise. Small and cost free measures like mask wearing would have avoided our current situation but people are too stubborn so the cycle continues.I think football may be running at reduced capacities by Christmas.

 

[Terry Butcher Tribute Act]

Yes, needs to be mandatory because voluntary isn’t working. The alternative will be winter lockdown. To be fair most people ar our local supermarket wear one but football is nonsensical. We wear ours whenever we go shopping and also at all times at football in the concourse or in our seats apart from when having a drink.

Not really that cut and dry is it. There's other things that can be done, mainly speed up the 'booster' rollout, which has increased in the last couple of weeks but not as much as we'd like.

The current surge in rates has really not been helped by the debacle in the South West where thousands of infected people have accidentally spread the virus after being told incorrectly they had tested negative. Hopefully now that's no longer happening the spread will slow a bit.

I'm all for mask wearing and have never stopped with mine, but I do feel it's going to be politicised a bit too much because people are so desperate to bash the Conservative party for not doing anything. Look at Labour in the Commons yesterday, all MPs masked up to make a point, yet at the party conference almost none of them bothered. Petty. There's still been worse Covid rates in areas in Scotland where masks are mandatory - it's not the only thing that's going to keep things under control.



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[Hamilton]

We shouldn't have stopped wearing them in the obvious places in the first place, but our macho Tory leadership seemed hellbent in reintroducing our 'freedom', whatever that meant.

How I am less free by popping a mask on while on public transport or moving about a shop, I have no fricking idea!

Unfortunately, the idiots have let the genie out of the mask-wearing bottle now, and putting it back in is going to be far harder.

We are led by total morons. Over the summer, death rates from COVID may have been lower, but:
- we have continued to put pressure on an already stretched NHS and driven morale of staff downwards with our selfish behaviour
- we have denied people access to hospital beds for other treatments because beds have been used to treat COVID patients
- we will have seen indirect deaths due to COVID (see point 2)
- we will have reinforced an conscious or unconscious belief among some that they don't need to be vaccinated
- and some people will have unnecessarily died of COVID

Wake up and chuck this bunch of dangerously ideologically driven clowns out. We are led by a guy who hosted Have I Got News For You FFS!

 

[Papa Lazarou]

Never stopped wearing mine, and yes absolutely in favour of it being made mandatory again. Too many numpties out there not wearing masks.

However:

Masks is too simplistic. Was reading a Twitter thread the other day outlining the probable reasons why the case rate in the UK is so much higher than other nations currently, and in order of importance it came down to:

1. Widespread unrestricted mass gatherings at events, in particular indoors.
2. Waning protection for those who received AZ vaccines during the early vaccination push coupled with a very slow rollout of boosters.
3. Low rate of mask wearing.

Ultimately, while mandating mask wearing again would help it's far more important to accelerate the booster program (esp. for those who had AZ early on). Boris is never going to address #1 from that list IMO, so he must address #2 and #3 ASAP to avoid a repeat of last year's Christmas disaster.

Israel is the other country that got out of the blocks quickly with vaccination (even quicker than us). They're a few weeks ahead of us and are seeing the same issue as us: waning protection from early vaccinations leading to "breakthrough" infection rates steadily rising.

This. Agree with you.

 

[Bozza]

Never stopped wearing mine, and yes absolutely in favour of it being made mandatory again. Too many numpties out there not wearing masks.

However:

Masks is too simplistic. Was reading a Twitter thread the other day outlining the probable reasons why the case rate in the UK is so much higher than other nations currently, and in order of importance it came down to:

1. Widespread unrestricted mass gatherings at events, in particular indoors.
2. Waning protection for those who received AZ vaccines during the early vaccination push coupled with a very slow rollout of boosters.
3. Low rate of mask wearing.

Ultimately, while mandating mask wearing again would help it's far more important to accelerate the booster program (esp. for those who had AZ early on). Boris is never going to address #1 from that list IMO, so he must address #2 and #3 ASAP to avoid a repeat of last year's Christmas disaster.

Israel is the other country that got out of the blocks quickly with vaccination (even quicker than us). They're a few weeks ahead of us and are seeing the same issue as us: waning protection from early vaccinations leading to "breakthrough" infection rates steadily rising.

That's the John Burn-Murdoch tweet thread. I posted it in the Covid forum a few days back, but it's probably worthy of a wider audience who may be interested. Follow from this tweet...

[tweet]1449801652207239176[/tweet]

 

[Fat Boy Fat]

Still wearing mine and avoiding places where it could be an issue if people don't.

Seems so easy, but clearly for many it isn't.

 

[middletoenail]

Yes, it's hardly a big deal to wear a mask. It's a little more of a pain when you're having to wear them in 35c heat!

Should be a significant fine for those not adhering, and the five should go back to NHS.

 

[Cowfold Seagull]

No!

Well you are across the pond so l'll go easy on you! but l'll go as far as to say, that in this country at least, not wearing a mask in an enclosed space, is selfish in my opinion.

 

[Cheeky Monkey]

Have never stopped wearing mine in shops and on public transport as I’m conscious of indirectly safeguarding my elderly parents, especially with flu season incoming. Always grateful for it when in enclosed spaces with the Great British public coughing and sneezing.

I’m guessing those who don’t wear them don’t have parents or elderly relatives to protect...

 

[amexer]

I have been to France and Italy in last month and nearly everybody was wearing mask to enter anywhere

 

[KeegansHairPiece]

With Covid infection rates beginning to rise once again, and with winter not even upon us yet, it would seem that the Government's much vaunted "double jab our way to freedom" isn't quite working.

Personally l'm alarmed to see that facemasks have been entirely ditched by so many people. If you get on a bus or train now, walk into a shop or supermarket, almost any enclosed space, there are very few masks to be seen.

Even at the Amex, on the crowded concourses, with no social distancing possible, crowds of people standing around in close proximity to each other talking, barely a mask in sight. I was quite shocked by it.

I realise that no one likes wearing a facemask, but l think we were all getting used to it until Boris declared it was only advisory and not compulsory. Surely to put on a mask again is a very small price to pay, if it means helping to bring the spread of the virus back under control again.

You lost me at "with Covid infection rates beginning to rise once again"...

 

[Surf's Up]

I continue to wear a mask inside shops etc and in crowded external public places. I was in Spain recently and this is pretty much the regime they have implemented nationally and the Spanish of all ages seem to have accepted it as the new normal and as a sensible compromise.

 

[Bob!]

Yes.

But who will enforce it?

The Police won't, so no venue, shop etc. is going to ask their staff to enforce it, knowing there is no support.

 

[Fat Boy Fat]

Mandatory how exactly?

Absolutely agree they need to return on public transport, shops and to a degree in schools but what about pubs, clubs, restaurants. All are indoors and crowded but you simply cannot wear one and consume food and drink. If we go back to table service only and mask wearing to the table I think that's ok personally but it closes nightclubs and restricts capacity in other indoor venues (and probably closes the concessions at the Amex). I think this would be needed to be defined very carefully because people should be wearing them on the concourse now but don't "because they're eating and drinking".

For many going to a club, pub or restaurant would be out of the question or a matter of choice, masks or not, shopping or getting on the bus or train less so.

 

[Cowfold Seagull]

You lost me at "with Covid infection rates beginning to rise once again"...

Well they had been pretty much flatlining through the summer months.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Well seeing as how we're up to a quarter of a million new cases a week here on Plague Island it might be a good idea yes. But don't wait for hmgov to tell you

 

[KeegansHairPiece]

Well they had been pretty much flatlining through the summer months.

Summer as in from 01 June? We're only just getting back to end of July's peak...