Coronavirus - how is it/has it affected you?

larmen said:
If masks were useless, why would so many countries mandate them independently from each other?
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Didn’t say or suggest for one moment that they were useless. Just not as critical in the first instance to halting or reducing significantly transmission...

Plus did all countries put in place all other separation measures as well as mandating masks - and maybe our politicians and experts guessed that many of the British public would only try and find ways around complying fully...which indeed is what has come about. They needed us to comply with separation and staying at home...actions which themselves reduce the need for us to wear masks. Now we are being able to start to socialise more the value and importance of wearing a mask increases.
 
SocketRocket said:
A mask will stop aerosol droplets from being projected, the mask will deflect them such they will stay local to you. It doesn't need scientific tests to understand that.
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There is a difference here between "droplets" and "aerosol".
Droplets are contained in breath and will generally fall to earth within 2 metres of the mouth in still air. Hence the SD requirements. Masks help or prevent transmission of this sort.
It is now recognised ( probably always was, but not publicised early on) that transmission also occurs via aerosol breath. That is ordinary breath as most of us expel all the time. If that circulates within a confined area ( indoors) etc , then eventually, if the people are in that area long enough, they will breath that expelled air in. That is also a way of transmission, and it is a way that masks do not stop.
 
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SwingsitlikeHogan said:
Didn’t say or suggest for one moment that they were useless. Just not as critical in the first instance to halting or reducing significantly transmission...

Plus did all countries put in place all other separation measures as well as mandating masks - and maybe our politicians and experts guessed that many of the British public would only try and find ways around complying fully...which indeed is what has come about. They needed us to comply with separation and staying at home...actions which themselves reduce the need for us to wear masks. Now we are being able to start to socialise more the value and importance of wearing a mask increases.
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From the beginning the W.H.O advocated masks and if I remember correctly, gloves as well, some of us wore either or both initially and had forum “experts” tell us we were wasting our time!
 
Hobbit said:
So there's nothing wrong with the masks, only the people wearing them aren't doing so properly. You are defaulting to the lowest common denominator, i.e. they're a waste of time because you want that to be the outcome. Why not educate and enforce. That way you will see the benefit you talk of that is achieved in the labs. Not wanting to wear them doesn't make it right. Wanting to wear them properly should be the outcome we all want, unless you want to be selfish.


But lets be honest, you just don't want masks. And you give a great list of all the reasons why but you don't acknowledge/recognise that if worn properly, everyone benefits. No one wants them but some people recognise that they do have some benefit.
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No there’s nothing wrong with masks, and there’s nothing right with masks as the studies are inconclusive.

If worn properly with social distancing, washing hands before and after use, never touching the mask and single use and changed every 20-30mins then I would imagine that would provide a positive benefit.

But that doesn’t and won’t happen in a community setting. So frequent hand washing/cleaning and social distancing should of been more enforced with this current policy.

No I don’t want masks, they are filthy germ ridden rags in hands of the public - literally.

There’s no need to argue, everything’s inconclusive and this is purely my belief from what I heard and read at the beginning and then how I’ve observed the public.

Now I’m late for work ?
 
pauldj42 said:
From the beginning the W.H.O advocated masks and if I remember correctly, gloves as well, some of us wore either or both initially and had forum “experts” tell us we were wasting our time!
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Yes - but just perhaps there is an element of what was done in the UK in respect of assessing the likelihood of complacency in the UK public.

That were we to be told to be wearing masks from the word go - as well as the separation and stay at home edicts - many would have considered wearing a mask sufficient - and bothered less about staying at home and social distancing - after all they could well have said - we know those in SE Asia wear masks and yet they still socialise etc.

But simple logic tells us that social distancing and staying at home (especially) make wearing of masks at the same time less critical. But as we get transmission under control and are able to socialise, having now learnt social distancing behaviours, the more important does wearing a mask become. And I feel that that is where we are - and why wearing a mask now becomes much more important when out and about.
 
SwingsitlikeHogan said:
Yes - but just perhaps there is an element of what was done in the UK in respect of assessing the likelihood of complacency in the UK public.

That were we to be told to be wearing masks from the word go - as well as the separation and stay at home edicts - many would have considered wearing a mask sufficient - and bothered less about staying at home and social distancing - after all they could well have said - we know those in SE Asia wear masks and yet they still socialise etc.

But simple logic tells us that social distancing and staying at home (especially) make wearing of masks at the same time less critical. But as we get transmission under control and are able to socialise, having now learnt social distancing behaviours, the more important does wearing a mask become. And I feel that that is where we are - and why wearing a mask now becomes much more important when out and about.
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We should of only gone out then, as now, when required, if people/shops had implemented them from minute one as advised, then maybe their wouldn’t be the scepticism there is now and it may of saved the odd life!

The fact was that initially we were told they weren’t required and then they were is the issue.
 
pauldj42 said:
We should of only gone out then, as now, when required, if people/shops had implemented them from minute one as advised, then maybe their wouldn’t be the scepticism there is now and it may of saved the odd life!

The fact was that initially we were told they weren’t required and then they were is the issue.
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I suspect that was because in the beginning they gave credit to the belief that the public would keep to SD , having taken in the reason that if no nearer than 2 metres, then droplets won't transmit. They'll fall to the ground.
At that time, indoors mixing was allowed only for households, remember?
But the public didn't do SD very well.
As already stated, prolonged indoors togetherness supersedes the SD question because aerosol mixing occurs and masks don't prevent that.
Masks are useful ( vital , I would suggest, ) where meetings occur where SD might be inadvertently ( or deliberately) not adhered to.
 
Swinglowandslow said:
I suspect that was because in the beginning they gave credit to the belief that the public would keep to SD , having taken in the reason that if no nearer than 2 metres, then droplets won't transmit. They'll fall to the ground.
At that time, indoors mixing was allowed only for households, remember?
But the public didn't do SD very well.
As already stated, prolonged indoors togetherness supersedes the SD question because aerosol mixing occurs and masks don't prevent that.
Masks are useful ( vital , I would suggest, ) where meetings occur where SD might be inadvertently ( or deliberately) not adhered to.
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Sorry, but SD really only came to the forefront once lockdowns were eased, if masks/face coverings had been mandated from day 1 then they had a chance of becoming the norm, restrictions were eased and then implementing masks/face coverings became an issue and still no clear advice was given on the wearing of them.

Not sure on this one, but weren’t masks only mandated in shops 9 months into the pandemic, before then it varied and was not enforced across the board.
 
[QUOTE="pauldj42, post: 2331348, member: 16999"]Sorry, but SD really only came to the forefront once lockdowns were eased, if masks/face coverings had been mandated from day 1 then they had a chance of becoming the norm, restrictions were eased and then implementing masks/face coverings became an issue and still no clear advice was given on the wearing of them.

Not sure on this one, but weren’t masks only mandated in shops 9 months into the pandemic, before then it varied and was not enforced across the board.[/QUOTE]

Don't think so. IIRC Prof Whitty gave the advice of keeping two metres away from each other right from the off. The first day he was in the National broadcast by the Gov on Covid?
If I'm wrong, I apologise , but that's how I remember the start of this Covid pandemic in U.K.
 
Swinglowandslow said:
[QUOTE="pauldj42, post: 2331348, member: 16999"]Sorry, but SD really only came to the forefront once lockdowns were eased, if masks/face coverings had been mandated from day 1 then they had a chance of becoming the norm, restrictions were eased and then implementing masks/face coverings became an issue and still no clear advice was given on the wearing of them.

Not sure on this one, but weren’t masks only mandated in shops 9 months into the pandemic, before then it varied and was not enforced across the board.

Don't think so. IIRC Prof Whitty gave the advice of keeping two metres away from each other right from the off. The first day he was in the National broadcast by the Gov on Covid?
If I'm wrong, I apologise , but that's how I remember the start of this Covid pandemic in U.K.
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Maybe I didn’t explain myself properly, initially during the first lockdown, the majority of people “played the game” only went out when neccesary and tried to implement what we’d been asked, ie SD, no masks etc, then when the lockdown eased, more people came out and the mixed messages ref the masks started.

So, if during the initial lockdown masks/face coverings and SD had been implemented both would of become the norm and therefore once relaxations came in and places became busier, we were left with no masks/face coverings and people not adhereing to the SD, the masks/face coverings may of provided an extra barrier when the SD was breached, ie, could of helped.

Instead we ended up with SD becoming weaker and then playing catch up to get people to wear the masks/face coverings.
 
Just had a quick google

24th July 2020 the Gov made it mandatory to wear face masks when visiting shops ?
 
Tashyboy said:
Just had a quick google

24th July 2020 the Gov made it mandatory to wear face masks when visiting shops ?
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Thanks for that. My point was that the advice to social distance, I.e 2 metres, was given right from the off, by Prof Whitty. And, ( in the hope that it would be adhered to, ) there was an indication that therefore ( with a 2 metre gap between people) masks weren't necessary .
Remember the supermarkets marked out so that everyone was 2 metres apart, well, supposed to be!?
 
IanM said:
Question... continental Europe into third wave... are we heading same route or will that be mitigated (to whatever extent) by greater levels of vaccination?
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I asked the same question, I think it was the start of the week. I was sadly informed by Ethan and a few others it’s already here in a fashion ☹️
 
Swinglowandslow said:
Thanks for that. My point was that the advice to social distance, I.e 2 metres, was given right from the off, by Prof Whitty. And, ( in the hope that it would be adhered to, ) there was an indication that therefore ( with a 2 metre gap between people) masks weren't necessary .
Remember the supermarkets marked out so that everyone was 2 metres apart, well, supposed to be!?
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What I couldn’t understand was the initial info re masks was a bit mixed. Ave an idea who said it but not sure, but wasn’t “ its not the British way of doing things “ mentioned or something along those lines Re the wearing of masks. I read a good piece the other day re the guy in I eland who has handled there response to Covid. He said “ I have prepared for this moment for 15 years”. Which kinda got me thinking, how much planning for a situation like this have the UK undertaken. Hopefully that me be addressed when we have a public enquiry.
 
Tashyboy said:
What I couldn’t understand was the initial info re masks was a bit mixed. Ave an idea who said it but not sure, but wasn’t “ its not the British way of doing things “ mentioned or something along those lines Re the wearing of masks. I read a good piece the other day re the guy in I eland who has handled there response to Covid. He said “ I have prepared for this moment for 15 years”. Which kinda got me thinking, how much planning for a situation like this have the UK undertaken. Hopefully that me be addressed when we have a public enquiry.
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Chris whitty did a speach (available on YouTube) on how to deal with a PANDEMIC years ago

Only problem is cuts from central government

That's as far as the convo can go without political involvement
 
Read earlier today (I think in the Times or maybe BBC website) that the 3rd will happen but due to the blunting nature of vaccines now administered to the vast majority of those in the Groups that have had 99% of the deaths and serious illnesses, it is more likely to be a ripple rather than a wave and most likely timing is November December.
 
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