Face coverings to become mandatory in shops in England (includes poll)

[45107]

No country in the world has had mandatory masks outside your house. Would you want solitary fellwalkers wearing them for example?

I don't believe that anyone is calling for mandatory masks for all outside activity

 

[bramling]

I don't believe that anyone is calling for mandatory masks for all outside activity

People are. There's people who want to see marks compulsory for anyone outside their front door, and their view towards people with medical exemptions is essentially "tough they should stay indoors then to keep the rest of us safe". I'm sure this is very much a minority viewpoint, but there's certainly people who think along these lines.

 

[bussnapperwm]

I tried wearing a mask in my home office as a test and within 5 minutes I was starting to get panicky (it doesnt help I have Aspergers and can't cope with things around my mouth - one of the reasons I don't wear a tie/have my top button done up on shirts) so I dread to think how I feel on a bus/in a shop.

 

[Bantamzen]

I see that the BBC News site is going full on to argue for mask wearing this morning, with a long piece on how other countries do it & also citing that Donald Trump endorses them now. They seem grimly determined to force these ruddy things literally onto our faces.

Anything but shut the pubs again,as far as I'm concerned. I'll wear a facemask on my own toilet if it stops that !

There is one teeny tiny problem with that logic. If masks are mandatory in shops, how long do you think it will be before the activists make the case to re-close pubs & restaurants because masks aren't pracitable?

 

[Weekender]

Since I'm an asthmatic could you please explain to me how there is a link?
(Note, I have been wearing a mask regularly and had no problems!)

Asthma UK advise that wearing a face covering may cause breathing problems and have a downloadable exemption on their website.
a doctor advised me that wearing a mask for a train journey of an hour could make the asthma worse in the long term.

 

[Mag_seven]

I don't believe that anyone is calling for mandatory masks for all outside activity

Just you wait - once the mask enthusiasts have claimed victory in forcing us to wear them in shops, outside will be the next target in their sights!

 

[hexagon789]

I’m of the opinion it should be encouraged and people should be allowed to wear them, but mandating them given the weakness and ambiguity of the evidence in support of them isn’t justified in my opinion. This, combined with the abuse and discrimination against those genuinely exempt that I’ve witnessed in Scotland make me think that it’s simply not a good idea.

Arguably people have already been encouraged to wear them north and south of the border. The only about 20% compliance rate is what led Sturgeon to mandate their use up here and I would presume the UK gov are now doing so for the same reason.

While you can't get 100% compliance, I'd say since it became compulsory on Friday compliance is now 90-95% a significant improvement and likely what Boris etc are aiming for.

 

[adc82140]

Which would be fine, as long as there is a public information campaign about genuine exemptions, and warning people not to try and enforce the rules themselves.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Which would be fine, as long as there is a public information campaign about genuine exemptions, and warning people not to try and enforce the rules themselves.

There could do with being some form of exemption badge you can wear instead of one obtainable from your GP.

 

[adc82140]

I suggested this in another thread, can't remember which one. The wording should be suitably vague, informing people that there is an exemption but warning them not to ask questions.

 

[yorksrob]

I think you will find pubs were the very thing that did cause a small outbreak for obvious reasons. As you are drinking you won’t be able to wear a mask (not that I agree with compulsory mask laws) and you can’t expect drunkards to social distance we have a hard enough time trying to stop them from driving cars and getting them to behave in a peaceful orderly manner when in public.

opening pubs is like storing flammable materials around a bonfire and hoping nothing ignites

The pub is part of the warp and weft of British society and culture. Not having them open is a tragedy.

There is one teeny tiny problem with that logic. If masks are mandatory in shops, how long do you think it will be before the activists make the case to re-close pubs & restaurants because masks aren't pracitable?

I suppose you could argue that there is a certain amount of risk involved altogether. If you reduce some of it by wearing a face covering on a train or in a shop, where you don't necessarily have to have your mouth uncovered, you can afford the higher risk in settings where you can't have cover it.

 

[Bantamzen]

I suppose you could argue that there is a certain amount of risk involved altogether. If you reduce some of it by wearing a face covering on a train or in a shop, where you don't necessarily have to have your mouth uncovered, you can afford the higher risk in settings where you can't have cover it.

I doubt very much that would hold much of an argument with those looking to have masks enforced. Also if it does put people off going shopping, this could also lead to a further reduction in footfall at many pubs, kind of forcing the issue further.

 

[yorksrob]

I doubt very much that would hold much of an argument with those looking to have masks enforced. Also if it does put people off going shopping, this could also lead to a further reduction in footfall at many pubs, kind of forcing the issue further.

That might be a point.

Fundamentally I don't mind anything as long as the pubs stay open.

That's the bottom line for me.

 

[island]

There could do with being some form of exemption badge you can wear instead of one obtainable from your GP.

There are a range of lanyard type things purchasable online for this purpose.

 

[Bletchleyite]

There are a range of lanyard type things purchasable online for this purpose.

Though some may find these discreditable because you can just buy one if you don't want to wear a mask. The system would have more credibility if it was based on a medical diagnosis and issued by the NHS.

 

[talldave]

That might be a point.

Fundamentally I don't mind anything as long as the pubs stay open.

That's the bottom line for me.

Fundamentally I don't mind anything as long as I can go to the supermarket without being muzzled.

I don't need to go on public transport, I don't need to visit any shops other than supermarkets, I just want food.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Fundamentally I don't mind anything as long as I can go to the supermarket without being muzzled.

I don't need to go on public transport, I don't need to visit any shops other than supermarkets, I just want food.

Order a delivery or a click and collect (I believe now you stay in the car and they put it in the boot for you)? Apparently slots are easier to get now.

 

[Scrotnig]

There could do with being some form of exemption badge you can wear instead of one obtainable from your GP.

You could have mandatory bright yellow t shirts with “unclean disabled person” on them, just to really ram it home.

 

[SJN]

Michael Gove just said on Andrew Marr that not mandatory but left to peoples common sense and up to individual shop owners.

 

[Scrotnig]

Order a delivery or a click and collect (I believe now you stay in the car and they put it in the boot for you)? Apparently slots are easier to get now.

You still need a week’s notice where I am.

However I cannot wear a mask so I have no choice but to rely on it now.

 

[Scrotnig]

Order a delivery or a click and collect (I believe now you stay in the car and they put it in the boot for you)? Apparently slots are easier to get now.

Also what if you don’t drive?

 

[talldave]

Michael Gove just said on Andrew Marr that not mandatory but left to peoples common sense and up to individual shop owners.

Oh we're definitely screwed then

 

[talldave]

Order a delivery or a click and collect (I believe now you stay in the car and they put it in the boot for you)? Apparently slots are easier to get now.

I'd prefer to stick the the current new normal, not the nonsensical new normal. It's illogical to impose further restrictions now when the infection rate is at its lowest and declining. When do you lift them?

 

[RomeoCharlie71]

Why are the media considering masks to be the "be all and end all" now?

It's like the last pre-lockdown weekend all over again, just with less scientific background and more political point scoring!

 

[Bletchleyite]

Also what if you don’t drive?

Last time I checked, they didn't rock up in their van and say "sorry mate, you haven't got a car, no delivery for you".

 

[Scrotnig]

Last time I checked, they didn't rock up in their van and say "sorry mate, you haven't got a car, no delivery for you".

I was talking about click and collect.

Delivery in my area is impossible. Because I’m not registered with Sainsbury’s as a vulnerable person, for example, they won’t even let me try for a delivery. It’s click and collect only. If I didn’t drive it’d be hard luck.

 

[Non Multi]

Michael Gove just said on Andrew Marr that not mandatory but left to peoples common sense and up to individual shop owners.

I love the smell of political fudge on a Sunday morning... I'll be happy to wear them just before the cold and flu season... This isn't the cold and flu season!

 

[Hadders]

I'm not in favour of making face coverings compulsory in shops.

If this were seen as a good thing then it should have been done back in March, doing it three months later seems bizarre.
Would compulsory face coverings extend to staff, I would not want to have to wear one throughout a shift.

There is also a very practical problem in supermarkets and off licenses in that staff are personally responsible for making sure that alcohol is not sold to under 18 year olds. If someone's face is covered then this check cannot effectively be made. It would require relaxation of licensing law enforcement. Alcohol isn't the only item affected by this - tobacco, lottery, analgesics, knives are others that spring to mind.

 

[Skymonster]

I genuinely despair of our government that it is even thinking about making fast masks compulsory in shops on the basis that:

* There have been no covid outbreaks linked to shops or supermarkets - not now, and not even when the virus was much more prevalent
* We have repeatedly been told that there is little risk in being in proximity of an infected person for short periods of time
* Mandating masks in shops undermines the premise on which businesses such as eat-in restaurants and bars have been opened

No doubt the idiots (my opinion) making these decisions will claim they now know more about the virus and how it is transmitted than back when, but it seems completely bizarre that activities that have been allowed since the virus first emerged are now potentially facing more restrictions than at the height of the pandemic. More than ever, we need the government to publish the actual evidence for its actions, rather than just impose restrictions that make the public more afraid.

 

[Scrotnig]

Why are the media considering masks to be the "be all and end all" now?

It's like the last pre-lockdown weekend all over again, just with less scientific background and more political point scoring!

Because they think it sells newspapers.

This is how government policy is decided now, based on howling from the media and social media.

Utterly spineless.