View Full Version : Should you wear a mask when you go outside or go shopping?
I am wondering what or who we are meant to believe on this matter. Hardly anyone ... of the few bodies i have seen out on the street or in the local mini market where I make my rare ventures out ... is wearing one. I don't wear one since common sense dictates that once you start breathing out into these masks, creating moisture it would act as a kind of viral 'sponge' if anyone got that close to me to breathe, cough or sneeze in my face. i keep well away from the maximum of four bodies that the mini market allows in at any one time ... and steer clear of joggers in the street who are panting away like crazy ... wash hand and face (and sometimes hair) when I get back in the house... and try not to get paranoid or OCD about it!
The following report - anyone read this? - from the WHO after analysis of the Wuhan spread, makes very interesting reading:
QUOTE
" Airborne spread has not been reported for COVID-19and it is not believed to be a major driver of transmission based on available evidence
https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/who-china-joint-mission-on-covid-19-final-report.pdf (https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/who-china-joint-mission-on-covid-19-final-report.pdf)
Current hysteria about the distancing and mask issue would seem to suggest that no-one has taken any notice of these findings and are trying to find any reason to deflect from the fact that the West was unprepared for this, under resourced and grasping at straws to explain why it is still spreading ... and why they are NOT TESTING!
glassgirlw
02-04-20, 22:24
The CDC in the states has said no all along. Now they’re considering revising that to “maybe”. Only because, it would prevent the person wearing the mask from possibly spreading germs to others - not that it would protect the wearer from getting germs. So it’s kind of up in the air right now as far as a yes or no, at least over here in the states.
We are now being advised to wear masks non N95 out in public. I don't see why not? It's under the guise of asymptomatic people spreading the disease.
Seems to have taken off in the US and NY in particular, but in the UK advice and recommendations are like weather vanes - turning every which way public hysteria and media speculation blows. Not to mention the fact that, like in the US, even if this became compulsory practice where on earth are all the supplies going to come from? Even our NHS can't get a regular supply.
Seems to have taken off in the US and NY in particular, but in the UK advice and recommendations are like weather vanes - turning every which way public hysteria and media speculation blows. Not to mention the fact that, like in the US, even if this became compulsory practice where on earth are all the supplies going to come from? Even our NHS can't get a regular supply.
Which is exactly why there’s been no great effort to encourage the public to wear one. Think about it, these masks reduce the risk of transmitting infection hugely but rather than advise us to wear a face mask they lock the country in their houses. Doesn’t really make sense does it?
nomorepanic
03-04-20, 00:41
Loads of people wearing them in Asda today or scarves round their faces
Panicattacka
03-04-20, 02:02
Well I can attest that they have long been standard practice in Asia (Japan, Korea, Taiwan, HK, etc.) especially during winter and spring (hayfever season). This year of course, even more people are wearing them outside (about 90% I'd guess). I like to think that they at least reduce transmission rates a bit for flu, colds, CV, etc. and every little bit helps as they say.
MyNameIsTerry
03-04-20, 04:33
WHO state you should wear one if you are in contact with someone affected or coughing/sneezing:
https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public/when-and-how-to-use-masks
It's not just your mouth & nose this virus enters by. How many people are covering their eyes?
There are plenty being worn in my area now. The staff in B&M and my local petrol station have them as well as gloves. It makes sense for them as they are forced into contact and social distancing can't always be achieved anyway.
I see people driving or walking with them on. It's a bit strange considering there is no one walking and you can see a quarter if mile of someone comes near you. I wonder whether these people think it's airborne?
Wearing face masks is advised in the US in addition to being in quarantine. Face masks will not and should not replace quarantine.
Actually, it's not unreasonable to assume that aerosol infections have occurred. If one droplet can fly 27 feet and asymptomatic people are infecting others..then we have to assume airborne is possible.
carriewriting
03-04-20, 12:38
I wear a mask. Without it I don't think I'd be able to go to the supermarket without having a panic attack.
Actually, it's not unreasonable to assume that aerosol infections have occurred. If one droplet can fly 27 feet and asymptomatic people are infecting others..then we have to assume airborne is possible.
Although there may very well have been the odd isolated cases here and there where and when that has occured, it's still not currently believed to be a widespread phenomenon, to say the very least.
There are still many variables concerning the CV pandemic involved, of course, such as the rarer cases of younger, otherwise healthy individuals catching and dying from the virus, but without trivialising and downplaying such phenomena, those instances still very much seem to remain the exception, rather than the rule.
MyNameIsTerry
03-04-20, 20:24
From today's government briefing, a snippet on the BBC site:
Asked whether face masks were effective, England's deputy chief medical officer Prof Jonathan Van-Tam said "there is no evidence that general wearing of face masks by the public who are well affects the spread of the disease in our society"
From today's government briefing, a snippet on the BBC site:
That's good enough for me but i'm fortunate enough to be well and will continue to shop without a mask but abiding by the guidelines.
ankietyjoe
03-04-20, 20:49
From today's government briefing, a snippet on the BBC site:
Sadly the phrase 'there is a lack of evidence' is almost meaningless in most contexts these days. All it really means is that either nobody has looked at it, or nobody knows.
MyNameIsTerry
03-04-20, 21:10
That's good enough for me but i'm fortunate enough to be well and will continue to shop without a mask but abiding by the guidelines.
Same here. WHO say exactly the same.
As the professor said it's social distancing that works. You can see some wearing masks thinking they are safe and not following guidelines. That might explain why I see groups of 3+ walking together or sitting cars (young men)?
MyNameIsTerry
03-04-20, 21:14
Sadly the phrase 'there is a lack of evidence' is almost meaningless in most contexts these days. All it really means is that either nobody has looked at it, or nobody knows.
True, it can simply mean no evidence yet. Considering the enormous cash put into the study of viruses I would expect them to have studied something though. Coronavirus isn't new after all.
I'm expecting to see custom masks soon. More black ones are around but they are obviously cooler :winks: We'll end up with it being a fashion with celebs flogging them to us.
I don’t know how they can say that wearing a mask is ineffective “if you’re well” when all of the evidence suggests that a lot of asymptomatic and mild cases are still very capable of transmitting the virus. In fact, asymptomatic cases are probably the biggest problem going forward as the majority of people displaying symptoms will be self isolating.
I also find it interesting that wearing masks is almost exclusively practiced by lots of folk in Asian countries and look how much better they seem to be controlling the spread than Europe and the US. Surely that’s got to be contributing?
Well like Pulisa, I can only take the common sense approach - stick those gloves on, go out when its quiet, avoid people and large supermarkets, and get in and out of the mini-market as quickly as possible. And give everything I bring back to the house a liberal wash down with good old Fairy Liquid. Then wash hands!!
Glad I'm not the only one who looks at all this and thinks that no-body really knows what they are talking about ... too much spiffballing, speculation and scaremongering without any definitive data to back it up. Would be nice to have some clarity.
MyNameIsTerry
04-04-20, 04:41
Well like Pulisa, I can only take the common sense approach - stick those gloves on, go out when its quiet, avoid people and large supermarkets, and get in and out of the mini-market as quickly as possible. And give everything I bring back to the house a liberal wash down with good old Fairy Liquid. Then wash hands!!
Glad I'm not the only one who looks at all this and thinks that no-body really knows what they are talking about ... too much spiffballing, speculation and scaremongering without any definitive data to back it up. Would be nice to have some clarity.
There was an article about how long the virus stays on surfaces. The outcome was they don't really know yet but don't believe it to be anything more than normal. It advised following normal hygiene protocols.
Professor Van Tam at yesterday's press briefing said that at this time that the UK would not be suggesting masks were worn
I was told only to wear a mask if you have a cough,plus here you can’t get any.
There are videos popping up on how to easily make your own mask.
Our surgeon general has one on the cdc website, a cloth, bandana, even a square cut from an old tshirt, folded and a rubberband on each side.
He also mentioned using a scarf, which seems more appealing to me at the moment.
If I am understanding correctly, this is to help prevent asymptomatic cases from spreading as much.
Is that right?
MyNameIsTerry
04-04-20, 15:16
If you are going to wear something like a scarf you need to think about how often and how you remove it. The point is the germ are captured on the outside. Like with a mask this will mean not putting your hands on those parts since masks are removed from behind the head. But what about cleaning it?
Well I made my weekly trek down to the mini-market at the end of my road this morning. It was well stocked, had new screens installed around the two cash desks ... and there was no-one in there. Had my scarf around my neck in case of need ... which there wasn't until a group of young men came in - 4 of them - who certainly weren't distancing themselves from each other, not were they making any effort to keep back from me. Told the one approaching me to step back and keep his distance whilst the other 3 piled up behind each other.
Luckily I had just completed my purchase and left the shop quite quickly. Got back home, washed face, hands and hair (it was due tor a wash), as were the clothes I had on.
However, what gets me is that it is always groups of young men who pile in together in shops, walk in groups across the pavement, sit drinking on the green opposite my house. Not a copper in sight either to break these groups up, or to check the increasing incidences of speeding cars taking advantage of the empty road to indulge in speed trials with the band of motorcyclists past my house. This has been going on for years incidentally during hours of darkness, now they are brazenly doing it in daylight.
This is only in north London - I pity the poor souls resident on the coastal resorts and beauty spots who are going to be deluged by more of these morons over Easter.
If you are going to wear something like a scarf you need to think about how often and how you remove it. The point is the germ are captured on the outside. Like with a mask this will mean not putting your hands on those parts since masks are removed from behind the head. But what about cleaning it?
I've saved a you tube video posted by a doctor on how to make own so going to dust down my machine and make some - will be machine washable. But in meantime, yes a scarf to chuck straight in the wash - but you really will have to think about where you place your hands when removing it to the washer,
There is no need to wear a mask if you are healthy, not showing symptoms yourself and if you are not in contact with a TESTED and POSITIVE Covid-19 patient/sufferer. This has been said over and over by medical experts, but people still carry on wearing them regardless, at least here in London, and at a time when the NHS are struggling to even get masks available to them.
Also, most people I have seen are wearing the standard surgical masks which do nothing. The only ones that even vaguely protect are masks with filters on (FFP3 and N95 masks) that filter out tiny particles. The standard masks can still let small particles in. So standard masks will protect OTHERS if you are coughing and spluttering, but they will do NOTHING for you! The FFP3/N95 masks are the ones used by hospitals, so every person who has obtained one has basically shortened the supply of hospitals who need them much more than they do!
My personal believe is that people do this to comfort themselves, despite government advice.
The virus can also enter through the eyes anyway. All this mask stuff is just irritating and totally selfish of the public. As a former nurse myself, I find it galling when hospital staff are scrabbling around for masks and the public are strolling around in them.
glassgirlw
05-04-20, 00:32
Our CDC here in the states changed their recommendation yesterday that people in public in areas where social distancing is more difficult (grocery stores, etc) should wear face coverings. I don’t think it’s so much to protect you from getting it, but to help prevent your germs that you may be carrying from spreading as far. I went ahead and sewed up a couple this morning as I’m a quilter and have a ton of fabric supplies on hand. And some of our local hospitals and nursing homes are accepting donations of them to wear over the N95’s that are in short supply here.
There is no need to wear a mask if you are healthy, not showing symptoms yourself and if you are not in contact with a TESTED and POSITIVE Covid-19 patient/sufferer. This has been said over and over by medical experts, but people still carry on wearing them regardless, at least here in London, and at a time when the NHS are struggling to even get masks available to them.
Also, most people I have seen are wearing the standard surgical masks which do nothing. The only ones that even vaguely protect are masks with filters on (FFP3 and N95 masks) that filter out tiny particles. The standard masks can still let small particles in. So standard masks will protect OTHERS if you are coughing and spluttering, but they will do NOTHING for you! The FFP3/N95 masks are the ones used by hospitals, so every person who has obtained one has basically shortened the supply of hospitals who need them much more than they do!
My personal believe is that people do this to comfort themselves, despite government advice.
The virus can also enter through the eyes anyway. All this mask stuff is just irritating and totally selfish of the public. As a former nurse myself, I find it galling when hospital staff are scrabbling around for masks and the public are strolling around in them.
Well said, Debs.
Agree entirely about the NHS, Carers, Community staff needing the correct PPE which of course will change dependant on their role.
Anybody who tries to get hold of stuff that should go to them really isn't being very helpful.
But I sense that more and more people will take it upon themselves to want to wear them, because they are generally more worried - you only have to look at the way people look at each other these days - I've not been out for over a week because I am self isolating, but prior to that people had started to look quite strangely at each other.
I am not endorsing the use of masks - I am ex Nurse and similarly to the hand sanitiser situation, am pretty furious the way the general public behave with regards to supplies that are needed by those working desperately to save lives and protect the general public. What I was saying is that in anticipation that UK government guidance will change -it may, it may not - there are other ways to protect the nasal passages and airways without taking up medical stock.
Pamplemousse
05-04-20, 10:11
I have at home a box of FFP2 and a box of FFP3 masks: but they were bought ages ago to protect me from hazards associated with my work and leisure interests. I did offer them to my brother-in-law a week or two ago for use at the hospital but at the time, he said they were okay for them.
I shouldn't, but I get more angry at emails from Chinese suppliers offering to sell me masks... :mad:
Phoenixess
05-04-20, 19:04
I have FPP3 masks they are the highest ones you can have. I ended up at the shop and forgot to wear one but I wore my scarf tied round my face a shop worker was coughing and ran past me into the back room it’s scared me half to death I’m not sure if I’m safe or not.
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I have FPP3 masks they are the highest ones you can have. I ended up at the shop and forgot to wear one but I wore my scarf tied round my face a shop worker was coughing and ran past me into the back room it’s scared me half to death I’m not sure if I’m safe or not.
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Are you OK now Phoenixess?
As you seemed to be in a very distressed state the other week.
Thank you, Pulisa :flowers:
I hope you are doing ok. x
Phoenixess
05-04-20, 22:38
Are you OK now Phoenixess?
As you seemed to be in a very distressed state the other week.
I keep going up and down I guess it’s just the rollercoaster we are all in at the moment I have a good cry everyday still find myself getting very distressed.
Thanks for asking
Hope your ok too
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Hi , just a couple of questions on masks , a chap has delivered to our house a few times and I’ve noticed he came to the door with a mask around his neck and once on his forehead , is this an affective way of using said mask ? I only ask because I find things around my throat annoying especially hands , we make them leave deliveries on the doorstep or through the window , Ive also seen people driving alone wearing masks is it now the case you can catch it from yourself?
Another quick one is it’s been said it can enter your eyes , I have a sleep eye mask would this be a good idea to wear while out exercising and would it be safe while driving with both masks on ?
I know I shouldn’t joke but at the start of the year we were considered the ones that were a little nuts and now everyone has joined in .
ps I worked in a body shop for years wearing masks and at the end of each day I’d have paint and dust marks leading down the sides of my nose where the mask didn’t fit tight enough to my face , this has damaged my lungs and given me asthma so unless you are wearing a rubber particle filter pulled tight to your face the others won’t offer you much if any protection but they will stop you coughing your germs at others and we do need to think of other people right now .:hugs:
I think the wearing of masks is best left to the frontline workers in this pandemic, especially as they cannot get enough of them ATM, partly due to their being hoarded and wasted by members of the general public who wear them without due reason, especially whilst driving in their own vehicles for non-work-related reasons.
I know I'll probably get shot down in flames for stating the above, but I am just voicing my own personal opinion.
MyNameIsTerry
06-04-20, 15:07
Hi , just a couple of questions on masks , a chap has delivered to our house a few times and I’ve noticed he came to the door with a mask around his neck and once on his forehead , is this an affective way of using said mask ? I only ask because I find things around my throat annoying especially hands , we make them leave deliveries on the doorstep or through the window , Ive also seen people driving alone wearing masks is it now the case you can catch it from yourself?
Another quick one is it’s been said it can enter your eyes , I have a sleep eye mask would this be a good idea to wear while out exercising and would it be safe while driving with both masks on ?
I know I shouldn’t joke but at the start of the year we were considered the ones that were a little nuts and now everyone has joined in .
ps I worked in a body shop for years wearing masks and at the end of each day I’d have paint and dust marks leading down the sides of my nose where the mask didn’t fit tight enough to my face , this has damaged my lungs and given me asthma so unless you are wearing a rubber particle filter pulled tight to your face the others won’t offer you much if any protection but they will stop you coughing your germs at others and we do need to think of other people right now .:hugs:
:yesyes::roflmao:
I wear mine around my leg like the cool kids. It's my gang symbol. https://yoursmiles.org/msmile/loon/m0537.gif
MyNameIsTerry
06-04-20, 15:08
There is no need to wear a mask if you are healthy, not showing symptoms yourself and if you are not in contact with a TESTED and POSITIVE Covid-19 patient/sufferer. This has been said over and over by medical experts, but people still carry on wearing them regardless, at least here in London, and at a time when the NHS are struggling to even get masks available to them.
Also, most people I have seen are wearing the standard surgical masks which do nothing. The only ones that even vaguely protect are masks with filters on (FFP3 and N95 masks) that filter out tiny particles. The standard masks can still let small particles in. So standard masks will protect OTHERS if you are coughing and spluttering, but they will do NOTHING for you! The FFP3/N95 masks are the ones used by hospitals, so every person who has obtained one has basically shortened the supply of hospitals who need them much more than they do!
My personal believe is that people do this to comfort themselves, despite government advice.
The virus can also enter through the eyes anyway. All this mask stuff is just irritating and totally selfish of the public. As a former nurse myself, I find it galling when hospital staff are scrabbling around for masks and the public are strolling around in them.
Agree completely, Debs!
:yesyes::roflmao:
I wear mine around my leg like the cool kids. It's my gang symbol. https://yoursmiles.org/msmile/loon/m0537.gif
Sorry Mr T I’m struggling to build a mental picture of you in a gang , maybe a paisley patterned face mask worn low on the neck like a cravat? Yes that suits my imagination better , but no need I’ve come up with an even better plan that’s also cheaper , I’m now holding my breath and closing my eyes as per nhs guidelines , It does have some small glitches that need ironing out , I can only hold my breath long enough to lock the door when I go out so I then have to unlock it again and go back inside for another breath , pretty sure with practice I will be able to get to the gate , I did have a friend who could close his mouth and not breathe for over an hour so it can be done , funny he couldn’t stay under water that long though :winks:
I am surprised by the position of people who claim that the mandatory wearing of a protective medical mask infringes on their rights or something similar.
I suppose a lot of it depends on the situation and its context.
At my day centre we still have to wear masks in the meantime (until further notice) and I have no issue with it, but over the past 3 weeks or so I've mostly ceased wearing masks in indoor public places (in shops, on the train, bus, etc), but I never stay in shops any longer than I really need to and I still tend to keep as far apart from others as possible whilst on the train or bus anyway, and pretty much always have done, pandemic or not, as I've always felt a little uncomfortable around strangers period.
Although I don't in any way wish to tempt fate, up until now I've been fine, plus I don't want to be living my life in fear of Covid (and other viruses/bugs, and 'hazards' in general) forever more.
I think mask wearing is completely personal choice now. It doesn't bother me if people wear them or not. I work in a healthcare setting and still have to wear one at work, so do the patients that enter the health centre.
I don't wear one anywhere else anymore. Perhaps that is irresponsible? Maybe, but, I still do a LFT twice a week because of work and I have recently developed a concern that while everyone else is now being exposed to all the normal every day bugs that we wouldn't have been in the slightest bit concerned about pre-covid I'm still spending my working days masked. I do think my immune responses will be missing out if I'd continued to wear a mask everywhere. Maybe I've just made that up in my head to make me feel better about not wearing a mask, possibly, but catching Covid when I wore a mask everywhere anyway has also affected my views on mask wearing too.
I think mask wearing is completely personal choice now. It doesn't bother me if people wear them or not. I work in a healthcare setting and still have to wear one at work, so do the patients that enter the health centre.
I don't wear one anywhere else anymore. Perhaps that is irresponsible? Maybe, but, I still do a LFT twice a week because of work and I have recently developed a concern that while everyone else is now being exposed to all the normal every day bugs that we wouldn't have been in the slightest bit concerned about pre-covid I'm still spending my working days masked. I do think my immune responses will be missing out if I'd continued to wear a mask everywhere. Maybe I've just made that up in my head to make me feel better about not wearing a mask, possibly, but catching Covid when I wore a mask everywhere anyway has also affected my views on mask wearing too.
Catkins, I wouldn't worry too much about being judged by others for not wearing a mask in places/situations other than your work, as since February it's no longer been compulsory to wear them, unless individual establishments insist on people doing so, which I guess is a bit like people smoking indoors before the 2007 ban.
As for how Covid variants play out over the coming months/years obviously still remains to be seen, but at least in the meantime, with Omicron (of all its iterations) being the least lethal so far, it's now reasonable to start doing most things again the way we were before March 2020, and building so-called 'herd immunity' at the same time, not only to Covid but the various other viruses and bugs in circulation that we previously never really gave as much as a second thought to pre-pandemic.
Of course, everyone still has a choice as to whether or not they still continue to wear masks, social distance, or even self-lockdown if they so insist, as it's a free country.
Pamplemousse
07-05-22, 15:13
A lot of Covid protocols are being eased at one workplace from Monday, but something I'm pleased to note is that you can now get a lanyard that asks people to keep their distance from you. I may just get one.
A lot of Covid protocols are being eased at one workplace from Monday, but something I'm pleased to note is that you can now get a lanyard that asks people to keep their distance from you. I may just get one.
Fair enough PM, especially if the wearing of said lanyards at work gives you and others greater peace of mind, plus is a sensible and realistic compromise IMO.
But on the other hand (unless there's strokes of bad luck in due course, Covid-wise), I think now is a good time to people and places to start phasing out Covid-related protocols, which for the most part, no longer serve any real purpose.
They serve a real purpose in health care settings though.
They serve a real purpose in health care settings though.
My bad Pulisa.
BTW, we still wear masks and have our temperatures taken twice-daily at my day centre, but the LFTs were ditched for good the other week, which were very hodge-podge as they were forever flip-flopping between doing them once a week one minute, then the next having them daily, then back to just once a week again, ad infinitum, as Staffs CC seemed incapable of making their minds up a lot of the time, plus have always been notorious for arbitrarily chopping and changing things ever since I can remember.
I'm on the east coast of the US - masks aren't mandatory anywhere anymore (except typically doctors offices still requiring them) but I've continued to wear a KN95 into stores and my 2nd grader still wears hers at school. I'm also in school and kept wearing mine through the end of the year as cases began to rise again. I was in class with several Covid positive people and didn't catch it, so I felt it was helping. I work in an office with 2 other people and we don't wear masks in there. That's really the only indoor place I don't mask. Where I live I'd say about 1/3 of people are wearing masks in indoor spaces.
I'd also note that the WHO study is from February 2020 before pretty much anything was known about Covid.
I still wear a face shield and mask when out and about.Type A flu is rampant in Aus and having long Covid I will keep my masks on,it’s amazing how many people ask why I wear masks.
I'd also note that the WHO study is from February 2020 before pretty much anything was known about Covid.
Obviously rather out-of-date now then?
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