Mask Exemptions in enclosed environments

[Max68]

I was watching the World Championship Snooker last night at the Crucible on TV and was interested to see that in the limited crowd they have in there I only saw one person wearing a mask. You seemed to have an empty seat or two distance between various groups of people so guess a known group of four sat together and then two seats away another two sat, and so on, but just the one mask!

 

[DavidGrahamJones]

Exemption or not, anyone not wearing a mask properly is a potential risk to those around them. It is documented that the mandating of mask wearing in Montgomery Alabama, in June (the council vote was overruled by the Mayor to enforce the wearing of masks) has resulted in a halving of the infection rate. It would be interesting tom see if others have noticed a similar change. Just one of the references, not peer reviewed empirical, but makes you think. https://abc3340.com/news/local/montgomery-cuts-covid-19-case-rate-in-half-after-one-month-of-masks. A lot of other Mayors in the US seemed to have done the same after the drop in cases was noted.

 

[Max68]

Can anyone advise me if you have tried a mask that attaches around the head rather than ears and if at all possible share a link to the one you wear as my around ears mask plays havoc with my hearing aid! I believe you can buy some sort of silicone attachment that holds the ear drawstrings around the head and there are some on Amazon but again if anyone has good experiences please would you be able to share>? I've been told that masks with a valve are more comfortable but I believe these are being outlawed?

I'm thinking a visor might be overkill but my brother in law says he has seen people with visors attached to their glasses?!

 

[Brunneria]

Can anyone advise me if you have tried a mask that attaches around the head rather than ears and if at all possible share a link to the one you wear as my around ears mask plays havoc with my hearing aid! I believe you can buy some sort of silicone attachment that holds the ear drawstrings around the head and there are some on Amazon but again if anyone has good experiences please would you be able to share>? I've been told that masks with a valve are more comfortable but I believe these are being outlawed?

I'm thinking a visor might be overkill but my brother in law says he has seen people with visors attached to their glasses?!

all you need to do is get a strip of elastic and thread it through either the mask itself, or through the elastic already attached to the mask.
Cut it to size and Knot it.
No need for expensive gadgets.
You could do it with ribbon, too. Only don’t use silky ribbon because that would be too slippery.

 

[Max68]

all you need to do is get a strip of elastic and thread it through either the mask itself, or through the elastic already attached to the mask.
Cut it to size and Knot it.
No need for expensive gadgets.
You could do it with ribbon, too. Only don’t use silky ribbon because that would be too slippery.

Thank you. Hadn't even thought of elastic, typical man!!!

 

[HSSS]

Two buttons sewn on a piece of material. Loop the ear loops over the buttons at the back of your head.

 

[HSSS]

I’ve seen such visors on the internet. However despite being very pro visor in earlier weeks (and still am if masks are problematic or along with a mask in higher risk situations) I now choose a mask over a visor when I can. Mostly due to increasing evidence that covid is airborne not just droplet based.

 

[wallyk65]

How do you feel about being in the same enclosed space, for instance a shop, with people who are not wearing masks because they’re exempt?
It seems to me that we have a clash of two needs: protection of those who may be very adversely affected if they catch COVID-19, and support for those who have certain conditions that make them exempt.

I'm T1 and have heart failure, I visit numerous retail establishments daily as part of my job, wearing a face covering causes me difficulties with my breathing and to sweat profusely but they are worn for a reason, my protection and the protection of others. Yes there are people who are medically exempt and whilst I would never question their right to be out and self reliant I do question why they would want to be exposing themselves to the potential dangers and abuse? If I could I'd be waiting until such times that coverings were no longer necessary.

 

[aard]

Personally Im fed up with all those complaing about not wearing masks.

I have no medical condition that says I cant wear a mask. BUT I have great diffculty breathing in a mask , After about 5 mins I have to take it off to start breathing normally.

Just because you can breathe in a mask with no problems, doesn't mean there aren't some of us who can't.

As a result the only place I now go is supermarket.

buses, trains etc are a no no.

Yet anyone can go protest, sit in a restaurant and do a host of other things without a mask and no one bats an eyelid, but god forbid I should enter a shop for for 5 mins without a mask.

And what about offices? I come into contact with far more people in my office for a longer period of time than a shop but we dont wear masks there.

btw I have 3 conditions that whilst dont put me at greater risk of catching do give me a higher risk of dying if caught. So this is not a case if me being selfish and ignoring those at risk.

 

[DavidGrahamJones]

So this is not a case if me being selfish and ignoring those at risk.

Interesting statement, I wouldn't call you selfish, but your action of not wearing a mask completely overlooks the risk to others. I have no problems if someone can't wear a mask but that doesn't change the fact that wearing a mask protects others more than you. I'd be happier if everyone wore a mask but even I notice a greater effort in breathing and talking so I am definitely not taking sides. Also, it might be worth considering a different type of face covering. Might not be glamorous but we're talking about other people's safety. I'm involved with a MS Centre where we put people into a barochamber and allow them to breath oxygen for an hour. That's been on hold for 6 months but we're considering starting up slowly and as an operator of the barochamber I will be wearing one of these beauties along with a gown and gloves.

Yesterday I witnessed something strange from someone not wearing a mask in a queue at a Tesco pharmacy, the three kids with him wore masks when technically they looked young enough not to have to, so good on them. He was a young man (sorry, in my eyes young, 35 or so) and I have no idea why he was exempt and it didn't matter. I religiously stood 2 metres plus behind him only for people to join the queue in front of me until I said that I was keeping a 2 metre distance especially as matey boy wasn't wearing a mask. Matey boy then launches into a rant about not having to do this that and the other, none of which I had questioned or even mentioned. It did make me question his claim about not being able to breath because he had a healthy set of lungs in my opinion and maybe asking him to direct his speech away from me didn't help matters, but how do I know whether he has covid or not, just don't speak loudly in my direction. I just reminded him that he might be entitled to exemption but I am just as entitled to protect myself in the best way I know, in this case keeping my distance from someone not wearing a mask and asking them to direct their speech away from me.

I get the impression that there will be those who will suddenly acquire some illness to allow them exemption which is making things not so easy for those with genuine problems when wearing a mask. There's an earlier question about what other countries are doing. It seems the U.S. have exemption certificates which are now being forged.

All the best, stay safe everyone.

 

[Fairygodmother]

Masks aren’t as comfortable as being without a mask; even though I’ve seen a few videos and statements by doctors which confirm that a good mask doesn’t reduce the amount of oxygen you receive (I’ll post when I’ve located at least one of them), for many of us it’s bliss when we can take them off again. However, wearing them’s altruistic. It protects others, and may also protect the wearer.
https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2020-07-08-oxford-covid-19-study-face-masks-and-coverings-work-act-now#
I’m sorry you were ranted at @DavidGrahamJon: I doubt the man in front of you in the queue knows the meaning of the word altruism.

 

[Fairygodmother]

<iframe src="https://metro.co.uk/video/embed/2212346" title="Metro Embed Video Player" width="540" height="353" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
I hope this works, it’s the video I referred to about masks not reducing oxygen.
This is from a doctor in the States.
https://wexnermedical.osu.edu/blog/masks-oxygen-levels

 

[bulkbiker]

Masks aren’t as comfortable as being without a mask; even though I’ve seen a few videos and statements by doctors which confirm that a good mask doesn’t reduce the amount of oxygen you receive (I’ll post when I’ve located at least one of them), for many of us it’s bliss when we can take them off again. However, wearing them’s altruistic. It protects others, and may also protect the wearer.
https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2020-07-08-oxford-covid-19-study-face-masks-and-coverings-work-act-now#
I’m sorry you were ranted at @DavidGrahamJon: I doubt the man in front of you in the queue knows the meaning of the word altruism.

The actual paper.

https://royalsociety.org/-/media/po...a=en-GB&hash=A22A87CB28F7D6AD9BD93BBCBFC2BB24

Full of caveats and maybes.

 

[Fairygodmother]

I hadn’t seen the full article, thank you for putting it here. Yes, the caveats and maybes are there, but it seems to me there are bound to be caveats and maybes when a study’s conducted relatively early on in the effects of ways to protect people against a novel coronavirus, and new information’s no doubt emerging as I write this @bulkbiker. Like many, I would love to have certainties, but that’s a pipedream.
However, what does seem clear is that the U.K. has suffered from a lot of unclear and incomplete communication, and fudged policy, apart from distancing and hand washing, and a high level of fatal infections.
Are you implying in your ‘caveats and maybes’ that you’re uncertain whether it’s worth wearing masks or face coverings to prevent infections? It seems to me, from this report that, we needed much better information about the materials we should be using early on in the pandemic, and even now there’s not enough widely accessible information out there.

 

[Member496333]

I hadn’t seen the full article, thank you for putting it here. Yes, the caveats and maybes are there, but it seems to me there are bound to be when a study’s conducted relatively early on in the effects of ways to protect people against a novel coronavirus, and new information’s no doubt emerging as I write this @bulkbiker. Like many, I would love to have certainties, but that’s a pipedream.
However, what does seem clear is that the U.K. has suffered from a lot of unclear and incomplete communication, and fudged policy, apart from distancing and hand washing, and a high level of fatal infections.
Are you implying in your ‘caveats and maybes’ that you’re uncertain whether it’s worth wearing masks or face coverings to prevent infections? It seems to me, from this report that, we needed much better information about the materials we should be using early on in the pandemic, and even now there’s not enough widely accessible information out there.

Just my view: I think the real issue is that when you make far-reaching, population-wide policy decisions based on ifs-buts-and-maybes you end up in the exact situation we are now in...total chaos and division. Sometimes it's better to do nothing and see what happens but, in today's citicism-averse, social media terrified world, doing nothing doesn't appear to be an option. Governments seem locked in a battle of who can do the most. And the more you do, the more stuff goes wrong. Real life 101.

 

[Nicole T]

I'm wearing them for site visits for work, and finding that literally nobody else on those sites is bothering. They're okay for short periods, such as going shopping, but I don't think anyone can reasonably be expected to wear one for 7 hours a day. I don't think even hospital workers wear masks for that proportion of the time, under normal circumstances.

Shopping, it's good to see that most people are wearing them now. My local Morrisons has gone from typically 3 people wearing masks in the entire shop, to all but 3 people wearing them, last time I went in. Unfortunately, as we've already covered, you can't challenge the non-wearers because they don't have to prove that they're exempt.

I've one or two friends (including some a lot more intelligent than me) who still believe they're unnecessary, ineffective, and actually some sort of clandestine global experiment to test population conformity.

 

[bulkbiker]

who still believe they're unnecessary, ineffective, and actually some sort of clandestine global experiment to test population conformity.

Including the deputy chief medical officer.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...-says-face-coverings-evidence-not-strong.html

Let's see how long she lasts...

 

[Flora123]

I'm wearing them for site visits for work, and finding that literally nobody else on those sites is bothering. They're okay for short periods, such as going shopping, but I don't think anyone can reasonably be expected to wear one for 7 hours a day. I don't think even hospital workers wear masks for that proportion of the time, under normal circumstances.

.

In our local hospitals, patients have to wear them 24/7 when they are in. Even at night.

 

[Fairygodmother]

I believe the UK government have a similar card which anyone can download from the internet.

If EVERYONE downloaded it, once the internet overload had been fixed, and refixed, and none of us wore face coverings/masks, would the revered U.K. Gov make wearing them mandatory? Only asking.

 

[Mr_Pot]

I believe the UK government have a similar card which anyone can download from the internet.

Indeed they have.