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Covid and Work, Covid Advice and General Chat

The news today says that even the very worst cloth masks prevent 7% of droplet transmission and the best over 80%. N95 masks can stop well over 90%. If only people would wear them we should not need as many lockdowns, we should prevent much damage to the economy, and best of all we should prevent much ill health (long and short covid) and save many lives. But some clever ***** just won't wear them.
 
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To be honest I’ve seen very few people not wearing them - those I have I assume they have a valid reason like my son who isn’t a clever **** who just won’t wear one.
 
Most people in our area seem to be wearing something. For me it's a no brainer. After all if you sneeze or cough "most" peoples natural reaction is to either cover their mouths, turn away, or do both. Wearing a mask is an additional layer of some sort of protection. Not perfect but better than nothing.

It depends where you are really. Smaller, local shops in my experience seem to be where some don't bother. Maybe it's because they are in their own little local community so it doesn't feel necessary. I saw a line of four people queuing the other day without a mask so I stayed shopping until they had left.

Medical areas people seem to be a bit better. I had to buy some new glasses frames yesterday as mine fell apart, probably due to sitting on a wide nose bridge of a mask for the last two months! The opticians were very accommodating and book you a slot to attend. The only problem is you have to gamble a bit on if the glasses are going to be straight as after all most people apparently have one ear higher than the other. So you have a mask on and the optician in the current climate won't get their "nose bridge ruler" out as they would have to get in quite close. Thankfully mine seem ok.

Then after picking up an ear infection I needed to pick up a prescription at the local pharmacy. That was rather bizarre as it's right next to the surgery, so you had loads of people in one queue not sure who was going to the surgery and who was going to the chemist, which has a one person only format in place. After 20 minutes of standing in the rain I got in but my prescription wasn't there. My surgery had sent it to my usual delivery service despite me asking them not to do that on this occasion! So I had to ring the surgery and they brought a copy to the front door. All surgery workers were in all mask, gloves, aprons and yet they think we are not particularly at risk!! Anyway eventually the pharmacist came out to take a note of who people were so he could check if they had peoples prescriptions, and then proceeded to bring the prescriptions to the door. No-one signed anything, as you do usually, it was just a quick address check and off you went. Not sure how those who pay for them paid. However, all in the queue wore masks and socially distanced quite well, apart from one lady who got a bit close. Every time I edged a couple of feet to get further away, she responded. Then a little old lady arrived just as someone was coming out of the chemist and promptly ignored the queue walked past the lot of us and the person coming out and went in where she stayed for the next 15 minutes!! That was quite funny actually as none of us said anything!
 
@Tannith you seem to have the impression that all people who do not wear masks are doing it on purpose or to be selfish however you need to accept that not everyone can wear them - my friend has COPD and wore one to her local shop but her breathing was so bad by the time she got there that the shop staff told her to take it off - she now has a Lanyard. My sister has asthma and tries to wear a mask but finds that, sometimes, she can’t. She doesn’t have a lanyard so may come across as not wearing one for selfish reasons. I don’t like wearing them but do so where I have to but not when it’s my choice whether to or not.
 
Daphne917 said:
..but not when it’s my choice whether to or not.
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Just as a point of fact, it's already your choice since the exemption list is not exhaustive and is preceded with "but not limited to". Where you wear one and where you don't is of course your business, but there's no need to feel pressured into anything. Moreover, anyone who attempts to bully you into wearing a face covering is committing an offence.
 
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Read an article this morning with some concerning information.

SAGE scientists have warned coronavirus is 'running riot' across the country amid reports ministers will declare a second national lockdown as early as next week.

They said the upwards direction of cases is 'very serious' and that the Government's Three-Tier system has slowed the virus but failed to put its spread into reverse.

And warned hospitals are today treating four times as many women aged between 20 and 40 than men. They said this was because women were more likely to work in educational and healthcare settings, putting them at greater risk of being exposed to the virus.

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/coro...rus-is-running-riot/ar-BB1azeiV?ocid=msedgntp

Obviously it depends on which side of the fence you sit as to whether you would find this concerning or scaremongering but it does bizarrely ask the question as to why the Government is considering another full national lockdown but keeping schools, colleges and universities open?!

For the record I'm not in favour of another full national lockdown particularly but I feel that the Government has missed the boat on other options. I've mentioned an opt in/opt out suggestion before which could have been applied to various vocations, health appointments and the like but it's now far too late for that. However it just doesn't make sense to close down society again, whilst keeping open the very places where social distancing is impossible, and as has been mentioned on here mask wearing is not mandated. They are also one of least difficult areas to do remotely although I do accept it's not perfect surely it is better than continuing lockdowns.

I still feel as a public we have shot ourselves in the foot. You see pictures in the papers of people out like it's a normal Friday night and yet the same people then get frustrated because it leads to more restrictions.

I feel flabbergasted when I read on other sites comments such as "why are we doing all this just to save a few over 70's" . I'm pretty sure that if this virus was killing the age group 1-25 then attitudes would be different.
 
Max68 said:
I feel flabbergasted when I read on other sites comments such as "why are we doing all this just to save a few over 70's" . I'm pretty sure that if this virus was killing the age group 1-25 then attitudes would be different.
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A business man was quoted in the press as saying why should we ruin the lives of the young in order to save a FEW THOUSAND elderly or vulnerable people
 
Bluetit1802 said:
Boris is speaking to the nation at 4pm today. Must be urgent to be so sudden and on a Saturday.
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There's going to be unimaginable panic buying this close to Christmas when he announces lockdown. Expect major food shortages in the coming days as people stock their freezers to bursting point.
 
Bluetit1802 said:
A business man was quoted in the press as saying why should we ruin the lives of the young in order to save a FEW THOUSAND elderly or vulnerable people
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When I hear this sort of stuff I do wonder who will draw the line as to who is be saved and who is not...
It is reported that the "vulnerable" group conists of 15 million brits (MD, Private Eye) so I would imagine that most people will be related to this group in some way....
 
Bluetit1802 said:
A business man was quoted in the press as saying why should we ruin the lives of the young in order to save a FEW THOUSAND elderly or vulnerable people
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Maybe they are waiting for the population all over 50 to sacrifice themselves for the good of the young?

I guess a counter argument could be that "some" of the young are ruining their own lives by flouting the guidelines and partying like it's a normal weekend!! Obviously this applies to all age groups but surely no-one can argue that if you congregate in large groups without distancing and masks, no matter what age you are, then cases will rise more freely than if people were a bit more "sensible".

I just can't understand why some people don't make a few little sacrifices to ensure we don't have to endure lockdowns. The knock on effects as we all know are hitting the country and individuals badly. The economy, peoples livelihoods, delayed life saving hospital treatments, increase in suicides etc etc. "Partially" these awful problems have been brought on by the behaviours of "some" people. I'm not saying that all would be rosy if everyone wore a mask or socially distanced two metres and never went to the pub for a drink but I am sure certain behaviours are contributory factors for the case rise problems and I can't understand why anyone would argue against that.

Maybe Boris should just let it run riot in the community. You would then see an increase in hospitalisations and deaths and we would "still" have the dreadful problems of economy, peoples livelihoods, delayed life saving hospital treatments, increase in suicides etc etc. Would a total opening up really solve these issues? One doubts it. An if it all went wrong and young people started filling the wards in great numbers the same people would probably ask why the government did that!!

The government have got lots wrong but I have a lot of sympathy in many ways because they are damned if they do and damned if they don't.
 


Same here in my part of Hampshire wearing face coverings, it's a no brainer regarding your last sentence.
 

I am 62, still fit, active, I work and I think I have a lot more to give and I hope, more years to live too, many of these 'elderly' people still work and have contributed to the countries economy as well, some still do.

No one ruins the lives of the young, except for themselves a lot of the time, at least they have 50 years plus to live their lives.

My adult son lives on his own and has medical conditions, he goes out occasionally for a drink, friends are from their 20's up to 50 + but, when his mates see him they want to keep buying drinks and get close up, chatting and man hugs, he says no keep your distance, but the more they drink the worse they get, I've seen it myself at a small family birthday gathering. Some totally disregard the possible severity of what 'up close' without a face covering could do.
 
Bluetit1802 said:
Boris is speaking to the nation at 4pm today. Must be urgent to be so sudden and on a Saturday.
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Blue, I think the "out of the blue" nature of this briefing is as much to do with the near 360 degree criticism of the "leaked" messages, and drip-fed briefings.

If it is considered we need to lock down, for the life of me, I can't see the benefit of deliberately putting out "rumours", briefing folks in stages, then applying the actual lockdown several days hence.

I appreciate that business owners may need to close down their premises, or people organise childcare, or whatever, but we either need to lockdown or not, and it's not like we haven't done this once (at least, in some locales) already. One would like to think "people" would consider how they'd handle it better if they had to do it all again.
 
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If face coverings weren't better than nothing then why do Doctors and Nurses wear them in a hospital setting?!
 
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In other news, whilst on errands today I saw a lady wearing an ingenious face mask/visor or whatever you want to call it.

Being transparent, facial expressions are clear, and the item itself is quite vaulted, for comfort. Apparently, if one wears glasses, they don't steam up, whilst sporting this.

The lady wearing it works with deaf children, and finds, for obvious reasons, they can still lipread through it.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/XINMINGREN...+visor+XINMINGREN&qid=1604154087&sr=8-10&th=1
 

I agree with you. It's probably to address rumours as if he isn't placing us into lockdown the last think they want is people panic buying etc.
 

That's really good. Maybe I'll email the school and see if they can supply 40 odd staff with one, it would certainly have made my job easier!!
 
DCUKMod said:
If it is considered we need to lock down, for the life of me, I can't see the benefit of deliberately putting out "rumours", briefing folks in stages, then applying the actual lockdown several days hence.
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They seem to governing by "focus group". They leak information, see what the reaction is from the public and their own MPs and then take action, or not.
 
If they do impose a 'lockdown' in England it won't work because the schools and universities etc will still be open.

I notice Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are not included.

The press thingy has been moved to 5pm.
 
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