Will you follow the advice on face coverings?

[xc170]

Been shopping today and to a unusually busy park, the number of people wearing masks is down vastly on last week.

The only people I saw wearing masks were under 30's, all either hanging round their necks or not worn properly, accompanied with blue surgical gloves of course.

Laughable.

 

[Huntergreed]

I can honestly say, in all 10 weeks of lockdown, on all walks, in all shops I've visited, I've only so far seen ONE person who chose to wear a mask, and this wasn't even in an enclosed space.

If they can prove mask wearing does really make a significant enough difference, then they'll need to enforce it a little more strictly.

 

[Jonny]

It's very rarely that I've been out, and the one mask that I did see was someone else in the waiting room at the GP's surgery (I was there for a routine non-virus blood test).

 

[PupCuff]

In my opinion the evidence is entirely sufficient to say that it's reasonable to exclude people who exercise their right not to wear a mask from being on a train or bus, which is a sealed, confined space where others cannot be far away from a non-mask wearer. This has happened in other countries and is not a great imposition on civil liberty, and can be timebound. In particular, people need to see everyone else (or almost everyone else) wearing one in order to become comfortable with the idea for themselves, and also because they broadly will understand that the masks others are wearing are there for their protection, not the wearers of the masks themselves.

However, many people here will insist their own right to do as they please, without regard to the potential negative consequences for others, so it's unlikely to happen.

The problem is, current government guidance says that transport staff shouldn't be encouraged to wear masks; and legally if a TOC were to assess that they were required to bring the risk of contracting Covid to an acceptable level for their staff then they would have to be provided, and be suitable and sufficient - clearly an ill fitting mask is not suitable or sufficient, therefore there would have to be some form of individual assessment process to do this. It's referenced upthread that masks provided by an unspecified TOC are uncomfortable and claustrophobic - they therefore increase risk as they introduce potential hazards such as distraction whilst performing safety critical duties. Government guidance specifically says that certain groups of individuals, eg those who have respiratory conditions, shouldn't wear a mask, therefore if you theoretically have an entire depot of conductors who all have, for instance, Asthma, you're either going to have to let them off wearing them (in which case why does everyone else need to wear them either?) or stand them down (who is going to work the trains?). Then if most of the staff aren't wearing them, who will be on trains for much longer than the average customer, why should the customer, either?

 

[LowLevel]

I've just been to a Sainsburys for the first time in a few weeks and I would say the majority of customers were wearing some sort of face covering as were a number of staff. Myself included actually, for the first time despite my answer above. I get issued plenty by work and never use them all so I used one today and I can't say it was a negative factor, it really didn't bother me.

 

[Pete_uk]

Local Tesco at 9am today where the odd one or two people were wearing masks. Staff didnt have any on and were not social distancing from each other

 

[RichT54]

I went to the Eye Department at the local hospital yesterday and was surprised that less than a third of the patients were using a face covering. There were no instructions to do so, a member of staff just checked your temperature when you went in and you had to use hand sanitiser on entry and exit. The medical staff all had face masks, but the receptionists didn't, although they were behind large plastic screens.

 

[Huntergreed]

In the Scottish briefing today, Sturgeon said that people who are choosing not to wear a mask or face covering in a shop or train should consider doing so, which suggests she knows the compliance with this guidance is low, but that she’s not worried enough to take any significant action for now.

 

[xc170]

Local Tesco at 9am today where the odd one or two people were wearing masks. Staff didnt have any on and were not social distancing from each other

I think most social distancing is for show, most people that have worked throughout the pandemic, myself included, lost interest in social distancing after the first couple of weeks...

Moderator note: This thread has been superseded by recent events; please see: https://www.railforums.co.uk/thread...lic-transport-in-england-from-15-june.205120/