News2 mins ago
Face Masks
I do realise that, at the moment, this will only apply in England but wondered how folks felt about it?
Boris Johnson has signed off on plans to end the compulsory wearing of face masks from July 19, The Telegraph understands, as the Prime Minister prepares to declare this week that the link between Covid-19 infections and hospitalisations has finally been broken.
Mr Johnson is expected to lay out a blueprint for how England will live with the virus, as ministers prepare to replace swathes of legal restrictions with a call for “common sense” and “personal responsibility”.
Sounds great but I do worry about "common sense" and "personal responsibility".
Boris Johnson has signed off on plans to end the compulsory wearing of face masks from July 19, The Telegraph understands, as the Prime Minister prepares to declare this week that the link between Covid-19 infections and hospitalisations has finally been broken.
Mr Johnson is expected to lay out a blueprint for how England will live with the virus, as ministers prepare to replace swathes of legal restrictions with a call for “common sense” and “personal responsibility”.
Sounds great but I do worry about "common sense" and "personal responsibility".
Answers
Best Answer
No best answer has yet been selected by maggiebee. Once a best answer has been selected, it will be shown here.
For more on marking an answer as the "Best Answer", please visit our FAQ.
I agree totally with pat. We are both vulnerable and live in a quiet, small village. Shopping is mainly done in the nearest supermarket and we have forgone trips to shopping centres since lockdown began, all 468 days ago. Throughout that time our visits to hospitals have been numerous. We shall continue to wear masks when we are out and about, wherever that is.
I think it is a case in the short term of masks or maintaining a screening initiative. If I test negative then unless I am travelling on crowded public transport I will not bother with a mask. But, as I have other health issues I will still be wary of crowds, and being in poorly ventilated spaces.
Sample testing the public to check for new variants while accepting a reservoir of infection in the population; as there will always be those who won't be vaccinated, is probably worthwhile. Mass testing of a vaccinated majority is probably not cost effective and will impact on the economy. I also think as the risk of severe illness in children is so low that just letting those who catch it recover at home without making the rest of the class isolate will eventually lead to a generation with naturally acquired immunity. It depends on how willing the government is to risk the small incidence of severe illness in children
Btw. I made my own face coverings combining woven and non woven elements, and changed then when they got slightly moist.
Sample testing the public to check for new variants while accepting a reservoir of infection in the population; as there will always be those who won't be vaccinated, is probably worthwhile. Mass testing of a vaccinated majority is probably not cost effective and will impact on the economy. I also think as the risk of severe illness in children is so low that just letting those who catch it recover at home without making the rest of the class isolate will eventually lead to a generation with naturally acquired immunity. It depends on how willing the government is to risk the small incidence of severe illness in children
Btw. I made my own face coverings combining woven and non woven elements, and changed then when they got slightly moist.
You're wrong, bobinwales. Lockdown was enforced in March 2020. There was no requirement to wear a mask. In the following weeks, the rates dropped. I'm not saying that wearing masks causes Covid. You are saying that, not me. I'm saying that masks are ineffective, not that they cause Covid. You obviously put your own interpretation on my answers instead of looking at the facts. But you keep wearing your mask if you wish, yer know, just in case, eh?
//Lockdown was enforced in March 2020. There was no requirement to wear a mask. In the following weeks, the rates dropped.//
Surely even you can see rates dropped temporairly then because of lockdown- not because we were not wearing masks. We werent wearing masks before so how on earth can you say the tempory fall in rates was due to not wearing masks.
Have you thought it through?
For you and Prudie who have jumped to the wrong concusion I support making mask wearing voluntry as soon as the goverment say it is even tho it seems the BMA want to keep it compulsory for a bit longer. I'll wear one where I feel a little unsafe like when working and close to customers who want to stand a foot away from my face and shout or when in a crowded train or bus, but never outside or in a friends house or at home.
Surely even you can see rates dropped temporairly then because of lockdown- not because we were not wearing masks. We werent wearing masks before so how on earth can you say the tempory fall in rates was due to not wearing masks.
Have you thought it through?
For you and Prudie who have jumped to the wrong concusion I support making mask wearing voluntry as soon as the goverment say it is even tho it seems the BMA want to keep it compulsory for a bit longer. I'll wear one where I feel a little unsafe like when working and close to customers who want to stand a foot away from my face and shout or when in a crowded train or bus, but never outside or in a friends house or at home.
Smoke em if you’ve got em. Want to wear a mask? Then wear one, two, whatever floats your boat. Others, not inclined to mask up, breathe deeply, and grasp hard your personal freedom so tenuously balanced upon the whims and ever changing opinions of dubious authority.
My masks, I have several, will be binned.
My masks, I have several, will be binned.
No bob, no! I'm not saying that either. I'm saying that masks had no bearing on the imposition of lockdown in March 2020.
Mask-wearing was not compulsory then. I'm saying (again) that wearing a mask has no effect. It does nothing. It did nothing. The figures kept rising and rising. Not because of wearing a mask and not because not wearing one. It was futile. The figures bear it out. They are there for all to see. How can anyone look at the figures for the UK and say that wearing a mask prevented anything? It did nothing.
Mask-wearing was not compulsory then. I'm saying (again) that wearing a mask has no effect. It does nothing. It did nothing. The figures kept rising and rising. Not because of wearing a mask and not because not wearing one. It was futile. The figures bear it out. They are there for all to see. How can anyone look at the figures for the UK and say that wearing a mask prevented anything? It did nothing.
//How can anyone look at the figures for the UK and say that wearing a mask prevented anything? //
How can anyone look at the figures and prove it either way?
Best to use common sense then and see that a barrier must helpif only a bit and listen to the views of medical proffessionals and scientists rather than some know it all who knows nothing in the pub/ on the golf course
How can anyone look at the figures and prove it either way?
Best to use common sense then and see that a barrier must helpif only a bit and listen to the views of medical proffessionals and scientists rather than some know it all who knows nothing in the pub/ on the golf course
Face coverings on public transport were made compulsory from 15th June and in shops from 24th July. (This is in England. I believe the dates varied slightly in the other parts of the UK). On 24th July the seven day average of new infections was 668. From then on it never looked back and peaked at just over 25,000 in mid-November. It dropped back to around 14,000 by early December but then took off again before peaking at just shy of 60,000 around January 10th. So whatever effect wearing face coverings had (if it had any at all) it was certainly not very dramatic because infections rose substantially throughout the period from last summer through to January. Of course you could (and supporters of face coverings would) argue that without them the situation would have been a whole lot worse. But there is no proof for this.
//listen to the views of medical proffessionals and scientists rather than some know it all who knows nothing in the pub/ on the golf course//
So let’s do just that then. Let’s go to the very top and look at what the World Health Organisation has to say. In fact the WHO is somewhat ambivalent on the matter. Among many other things it said this (in December 2020):
“At present there is only limited and inconsistent scientific evidence to support the effectiveness of masking of healthy people in the community to prevent infection with respiratory viruses, including SARS-CoV-2 (75). Despite the limited evidence of protective efficacy of mask wearing in community settings, in addition to all other recommended preventive measures, the GDG advised mask wearing in the following settings:” [it then goes on the describe various indoor settings]
So despite there being little evidence to support any benefits, the WHO recommends their use. Their recommendation changed from that which they proffered at the start of the pandemic (which was not to recommend their use), though evidence for the efficacy of face coverings had scarcely altered. The recommendation seemed to change when it became apparent that much of the population found them to be a “comfort blanket” and it appears that attitude prevails among quite a few.
What the WHO is very plain on is the discipline needed to safely wear a face covering. These include fitting and removing it properly, avoiding touching it, storing it when not in use and disposing of it. It makes clear that unless these measures are maintained the limited benefits (such that there are) are unlikely to be earned and in fact the risk from using a face covering incorrectly probably outweigh the limited advantages.
//listen to the views of medical proffessionals and scientists rather than some know it all who knows nothing in the pub/ on the golf course//
So let’s do just that then. Let’s go to the very top and look at what the World Health Organisation has to say. In fact the WHO is somewhat ambivalent on the matter. Among many other things it said this (in December 2020):
“At present there is only limited and inconsistent scientific evidence to support the effectiveness of masking of healthy people in the community to prevent infection with respiratory viruses, including SARS-CoV-2 (75). Despite the limited evidence of protective efficacy of mask wearing in community settings, in addition to all other recommended preventive measures, the GDG advised mask wearing in the following settings:” [it then goes on the describe various indoor settings]
So despite there being little evidence to support any benefits, the WHO recommends their use. Their recommendation changed from that which they proffered at the start of the pandemic (which was not to recommend their use), though evidence for the efficacy of face coverings had scarcely altered. The recommendation seemed to change when it became apparent that much of the population found them to be a “comfort blanket” and it appears that attitude prevails among quite a few.
What the WHO is very plain on is the discipline needed to safely wear a face covering. These include fitting and removing it properly, avoiding touching it, storing it when not in use and disposing of it. It makes clear that unless these measures are maintained the limited benefits (such that there are) are unlikely to be earned and in fact the risk from using a face covering incorrectly probably outweigh the limited advantages.
Now I've had time to think about a reply, other than the 'Hooray!'. It's great that I will be able to go to church again (I don't mask and didn't wish to upset anyone). Our tiny choir of 6 began practising again last week (boy! did we need to practise, voices are rust on rust) and I can't see why we can't sing again before audiences.
I ditched my mask a few weeks ago.
I welcome the news that it will become personal choice.
If there is anything that I will take out of this entire malarkey is that if I ever feel I have so much as a common cold coming on I will don a mask.....to protect others (albeit marginally) much like they do in places like Japan etc.
Masks are only (partly) effective and only when used correctly
I welcome the news that it will become personal choice.
If there is anything that I will take out of this entire malarkey is that if I ever feel I have so much as a common cold coming on I will don a mask.....to protect others (albeit marginally) much like they do in places like Japan etc.
Masks are only (partly) effective and only when used correctly
