Will you follow the advice on face coverings?

[Qwerty133]

Following the new guidance on wearing face coverings in certain situations where social distancing in harder to maintain will you be following the guidance?
The guidelines have been described as follows (copied from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...-coronavirus-lockdown-easing-plan-for-england).

People should “wear a face covering in enclosed spaces where social distancing is not always possible and they come into contact with others that they do not normally meet, for example on public transport or in some shops”, the government document says. Children under the age of two should not have their faces covered, and nor should any of primary age who do not have somebody with them who is supervising them.

 

[43066]

No, I won’t wear a face covering.

From what I’ve read the science on this is ambiguous at best. There is little concrete evidence to suggest that the wearing of face masks is beneficial, in terms of reducing infection spread, other than in surgical/clinical type settings. Plus there is a risk of the mask being worn improperly and causing infection of the wearer when they take it off.

Masks are worn a great deal in the Far East, but that is a cultural issue, rather than being based on hard science.

 

[GB]

No, I won’t wear a face covering.

From what I’ve read the science on this is ambiguous at best. There is little concrete evidence to suggest that the wearing of face masks is beneficial, in terms of reducing infection spread, other than in surgical/clinical type settings. Plus there is a risk of the mask being worn improperly and causing infection of the wearer when they take it off.

Masks are worn a great deal in the Far East, but that is a cultural issue, rather than being based on hard science.

So what will you do when shops, supermarkets and other businesses demand you wear one?

 

[Starmill]

Following the new guidance on wearing face coverings in certain situations where social distancing in harder to maintain will you be following the guidance?

I would say that you really need to have a proper quote from the guidance you mean here because not everyone will have seen it.

I intend to simply follow the guidelines, because at present this doesn't seem unreasonable.

 

[Domh245]

The guidance (?) https://www.gov.uk/government/publi...side-your-home/staying-safe-outside-your-home

If you can, wear a face covering in an enclosed space where social distancing isn’t possible and where you will come into contact with people you do not normally meet. This is most relevant for short periods indoors in crowded areas, for example, on public transport or in some shops.

Evidence suggests that wearing a face covering does not protect you. However, if you are infected but have not yet developed symptoms, it may provide some protection for others you come into close contact with.

Face coverings do not replace social distancing. If you have symptoms of COVID-19 (cough and/or high temperature), you and your household must isolate at home: wearing a face covering does not change this.

A face covering is not the same as the surgical masks or respirators used by healthcare and other workers as part of personal protective equipment. These should continue to be reserved for those who need them to protect against risks in their workplace, such as health and care workers, and those in industrial settings, like those exposed to dust hazards.

Face coverings should not be used by children under the age of 2 or those who may find it difficult to manage them correctly. For example, primary age children unassisted, or those with respiratory conditions.

It is important to use face coverings properly and wash your hands before putting them on and taking them off.

You can make face-coverings at home. The key thing is it should cover the mouth and nose.

If the pollen count is particularly high (and I'm likely to be sneezing) then I'll wear one, but seeing as my trips to the shops don't involve talking to anyone or any other activities likely to result in me expelling spittle then I don't see the point.

 

[westv]

So what will you do when shops, supermarkets and other businesses demand you wear one?

Cross that bridge if it comes to it?

 

[43066]

So what will you do when shops, supermarkets and other businesses demand you wear one?

The guidance (?) https://www.gov.uk/government/publi...side-your-home/staying-safe-outside-your-home



If the pollen count is particularly high (and I'm likely to be sneezing) then I'll wear one, but seeing as my trips to the shops don't involve talking to anyone or any other activities likely to result in me expelling spittle then I don't see the point.

Thanks to @Domh245 - I hadn’t seen the latest guidance.

I must admit this latest advice sounds like more knee jerk nonsense from a government which is struggling to deal even vaguely sensibly with this crisis. Is it based on any firm evidence? If you’re going to wear a mask at all, surely you should at least make sure it’s one which is known to be fit for purpose, yet we are told those are (quite rightly) reserved for NHS staff.

As you say, going to the supermarket (at least the way I do it), doesn’t generally involve drooling everywhere.

 

[Non Multi]

Considering the state of my hair a brown paper bag over my head would be more useful to me right now...

Several days before lockdown, I had to visit Windsor and saw 2 East Asian tourists wearing the face coverings (the only people wearing them) whilst posing for photos with a K6 phone box. It all looked rather odd to be honest.

Local corner shop seems to be selling a pack of 10 disposables for £12. Might have sold out by the time I go back!

 

[PupCuff]

The problem is, they're not really all that much use in protecting against the spread of Coronavirus. Wearing one, you're more likely to start touching your face, there's generally no effective seal so droplets can still get out and in, it's highly likely a lot of people won't dispose of them or wash them (where possible) regularly enough, the virus is reportedly able to enter the body through the tissue in and around the eyes which these masks don't protect, and they'll now in many cases be home-made so no guarantee they comply with any form of standard. Wearing a properly fitting, specifically designed protective mask or respirator I would support, but I can't agree with the suggestion a flimsy, Blue Peter-esque bit of cloth is likely to help in any meaningful way. It strikes me as just something people will wear to make themselves *feel* more protected.

Tldr; I'll happily wear a suitable protective mask or respirator but not something fashioned out of kitchen roll or an old T-shirt.

 

[MDB1images]

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[43066]

Tldr; I'll happily wear a suitable protective mask or respirator but not something fashioned out of kitchen roll or an old T-shirt.

Indeed - and yet that is exactly what the new advice is telling to you to do! Complete with instructions on how to make a “Heath Robinson” face covering at home out of an old tee shirt.

It’s embarrassing, frankly.

 

[philjo]

I don’t have any masks so would need to go out to buy some!

I could use a scarf. I also have a therMal balaclava but that probably isn’t a good idea in the Post Office either!

 

[Silver Cobra]

Due to the fact that the only shops I'll be visiting for the foreseeable future are the supermarket I work in and the local Co-op, and there's pretty much zero likelihood of me using public transport until the government permits some level of leisure travel (July at the earliest? Even that's probably optimistic...), I'll only start wearing a face covering of some sort if my work mandates it. While masks and face visors are available for colleagues to use, they're not currently mandated, and I've not heard any mentions of them being mandated thus far (but after this recent announcement/documentation release, that could change).

 

[MDB1images]

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[westv]

Can I use old underpants or my wife's surplus items?

 

[43066]

Can I use old underpants or my wife's surplus items?

Or just go with a full “gimp” mask!? Or a comedy Prince Harry mask?! A burqa?! Just so long as it covers your nose and mouth.

If I didn’t laugh, I’d cry.

 

[W-on-Sea]

Yes, absolutely, and I already do when going to the supermarket. It's long overdue, and in my view a necessary and key part of the way out of this. I don't understand why - pretty much uniquely in the world - there is so much hostility (however expressed) to the notion in the UK: it's not the case to anything like the same degree even in somewhere as culturally similar (to London) as New York or more generally (to the UK) as in the Czech Republic, where the government has made mask-wearing compulsory in numerous situations, with the very precise and accurate slogan "Your mask protects me, my mask protects you". Yes, it's weird and culturally alien, but so is living through a respiratory pandemic!

 

[BJames]

I won't until it is required by law. The medical grade face masks are effective but must be reserved for our health service. Other coverings are not effective and so there is no point. See this: https://www.newscientist.com/articl...inst-the-coronavirus-and-should-you-wear-one/

They do seem to prevent sick people from spreading the virus, but the evidence is weak and inconsistent, says Hunter.

An effective face mask is one that fits well around the nose, mouth and chin, providing a seal that doesn’t let air in around the sides, she says. It must also filter out particles that could contain the virus.

I appreciate reading the article that there are some benefits to wearing the face mask but to me it suggests that they are not effective unless they create a complete seal - which it is very very difficult to do from a homemade mask.

 

[Yew]

I've not voted, but I will follow WHO guidance, and only wear one if I show symptoms.

 

[yorkie]

I've not voted, but I will follow WHO guidance, and only wear one if I show symptoms.

If you have symptoms, you are advised to stay inside and not go out.

 

[Islineclear3_1]

Apart from work, I won't wear a face mask as I don't need to. It's bad enough at work as even with a ventilated one, I struggle to breathe.

I can't see this being mandated and policed

 

[cuccir]

I expect to wear one when commuting to work, though my hunch is that my employer (a university) is unlikely to require me to be at my office much if at all before September. For shops, museums, soft plays, other indoor spaces I guess we will see - I anticipate folding to whatever social norms emerge!

 

[Starmill]

If it became widespread it would quickly become the norm, and more surprising to see people in public indoors without one than with.

 

[43066]

If you have symptoms, you are advised to stay inside and not go out.

Indeed.

And this (ridiculous) latest advice risks making things worse. Symptomatic people will make an ineffective mask out of an old tee shirt at home, wear it when they go out, and disregard social distancing!

Utter madness.

 

[Skimpot flyer]

Can I use old underpants or my wife's surplus items?

You could my ex-wife’s knickers. Nothing gets into those

 

[MikeWM]

No, I'm far too fidgety and I'd be touching it all the time - which would probably do more potential harm than potential good (especially given the good is marginal, at best).

I'm pleased that this hasn't been mandated.

 

[Yew]

If you have symptoms, you are advised to stay inside and not go out.

Indeed, I would certainly avoid it if I could, however since there is no effective support the suspected infected, it's not necessarily avoidable for a quarantining household that requires necessities.

As an aside, this is a major criticism that I have of the current measures, it seems so obvious,that I can't understand why it's not a bigger issue

 

[Merle Haggard]

I am a bit puzzled about this; what sort of mask is being suggested? Is it the fabric type, basically square in shape? Where do you buy them? They don't seem to seal very well around their perimeter.
A scientist on R4 Today suggested that a scarf or similar fabric would not have a weave sufficiently close to stop even particles much larger than the virus, and this seems logical.
It's been raised on another thread but might be worth repeating here. The purpose of the mask is to prevent the wearer ejecting the virus if infected but still asymptomatic. Industrial dust masks with a valve are designed to collect particles when breathing in, the exhaled breath passes through the valve and is not filtered. D-I-Y 'comfort' masks have no valve; but do they also only filter inhalations not exhalations?
This morning was Tesco time for me, and, of the masks being worn by other customers, almost all had valves. Only effect, possibly, is to encourage hand to face contact when fitting/adjusting/taking off.

 

[Yew]

R4 Today suggested that a scarf or similar fabric would not have a weave sufficiently close to stop even particles much larger than the virus, and this seems logical.

Whilst that is true, we don't emit pure virus, we create droplets that are much larger. Based on the typical flow conditions seen, I'd expert to see most of the mass to form larger droplets, that a scarf could effectively filter.

 

[6Gman]

The problem is, they're not really all that much use in protecting against the spread of Coronavirus. Wearing one, you're more likely to start touching your face, there's generally no effective seal so droplets can still get out and in, it's highly likely a lot of people won't dispose of them or wash them (where possible) regularly enough, the virus is reportedly able to enter the body through the tissue in and around the eyes which these masks don't protect, and they'll now in many cases be home-made so no guarantee they comply with any form of standard. Wearing a properly fitting, specifically designed protective mask or respirator I would support, but I can't agree with the suggestion a flimsy, Blue Peter-esque bit of cloth is likely to help in any meaningful way. It strikes me as just something people will wear to make themselves *feel* more protected.

Tldr; I'll happily wear a suitable protective mask or respirator but not something fashioned out of kitchen roll or an old T-shirt.

My understanding is that they are not to protect the wearer, but to protect others from the wearer.