Topic: Corona Virus Panic/Discussion Thread

@kyleforrester87 yeah me too. One major factor was when the kids went back to school after the summer holidays. Prior everyone had a mask on.

When the kids went back the first day 80% of adults had one on. The next day it was half. Then everyone bar a few grandparents collecting kids stopped bringing the kids in with a mask on. This them quickly filtered to everyday life.

The mask science is obviously sound. However the way the public use them ie) using the same mask for weeks at a time. Is arguably compounding the issue. So yeah keep em off bar doctors and such.

It's been fun but the mask issue should never have been politicised, the nonsense in America; left mask / right maskless - is an absolute joke. Those people really need to sort themselves out America's political landscape is a joke.

@nessisonett it was weird coming into Scotland in September and having to start wearing one again everywhere.

Like a thousand of us had spent all week sharing facilities and living on top of one another, then we all had to mask up for the coach from JoG to Inverness 🤷‍♂️

I do get “how” that happened, our circumstances were fairly extreme and we got caught in an area with a strict policy - all fair enough. Just my point is it’s becoming more and more discretionary as it does not always make sense anymore to keep wearing a mask on occasion in the context of the rest of your life.

Get your vaccines and crack on!

@themcnoisy I agree the politicising of it is maddening. Frankly half the time I do wear a mask these days is because I don’t want people to think I am trying to make a statement… not the right reason to be wearing one is it lol

I still wear my mask in supermarkets not because I feel obliged to for ethical reasons but because it means people hardly ever recognise me and I never have to do a stop and chat.

Yes, This! Amen, brother. Also means I don’t have to shave or brush my teeth. I hope to mask the rest of my life and never shake another person’s hand again.

@Th3solution You’re gonna end up like Mileena from Mortal Kombat 😂

@nessisonett 😂 actually one becomes his own worst enemy if he wears a mask and forgets to brush his teeth — that breath doesn’t escape anywhere. I much prefer the fresh scent of spearmint.

But I mean it about shaking hands. The whole act freaks me out now. Why would I want to touch some other person’s filthy mitts? 😛

I work in the NHS so wearing one every day is second nature. I still wouldn’t dream of going shopping etc without taking a mask but that’s because it’s so ingrained in me now.

I still always take a mask out with me and wear it in supermarkets and shops. Lately though I've seen a load of places that have posters up saying that their preference is for customers to wear a mask yet most of the people in there aren't wearing one and neither are the employees. I'm not sure what the point is in them having the policy if they don't follow it themselves.

My local record shop has a strict mask only policy and recently managed to attract a significant amount of online hatred, mostly from people who live nowhere nearby or use the shop.

And they had one guy go in last week maskless with no intention of buying anything but to just kick off, claiming Queen’s Law or some other nonsense that they couldn’t tell him what to do.

Pretty amazing that a piece of fabric can cause such bizarre levels of vitriol from people.

I’d love it if the mask made me hard to recognize too but unfortunately it’s not the case 😂

@Voltan Is that a stealth brag?

@render It’s just that being a very tall man with very long hair, I’m kinda hard to take for someone else - mask or no mask

Had to catch a couple of trains recently, where the pre-recorded guidance broadcast over platform and internal speakers has now become something along the lines of "whilst masks aren't compulsory, we do strongly urge you to wear them at peak times and on crowded services".

Got on one near-empty train, where it was me and two other random people sitting half-a-dozen rows apart, and we still all wore our masks.

Then got on a ram-packed, standing-room-only carriage and I was the only masked passenger.

I hope collective common sense has gone somewhere nice on its holiday.

@RogerRoger I get your point about the wearing one on a busy train but..

"Got on one near-empty train, where it was me and two other random people sitting half-a-dozen rows apart, and we still all wore our masks."

Is it really common sense for you to both be wearing masks in this scenario? By all means, be as cautious as you like and wear what you like but I don't think I'd have been fussed to put mine on in that case.

@kyleforrester87 That's a fair question and honestly, I added that bit more to juxtapose the ridiculousness of the second journey more than anything; it was funny in retrospect.

That being said, I wear my mask in all enclosed public spaces, no matter what, because A: I can't be arsed with taking the damn thing off and on and off again, so I just put it on when I leave one place and take it off when I arrive at the other, and B: more importantly, my partner cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons, so I'm ultra-cautious about the whole thing anyway.

I guess that's my point about common sense. If everybody could be trusted to use good judgement, then those of us with a cautious disposition would be able to relax a little more, but alas.

Please, for the avoidance of doubt, don't think I would ever criticise two people sitting maskless at opposite ends of an otherwise-empty train carriage!

@RogerRoger @kyleforrester87
Yeah, the on-again-off-again nature of masking is more than an inconvenience — It’s a break in hygiene also. The more one touches the mask, the more pointless it becomes to be wearing it. The anti-maskers agree on this also — why wear a mask if you are constantly fidgeting with it with grubby hands that have touched all the handrails that people sneeze on, wipe their noses and touch, and scratch their bums then grab onto? You might as well lick the topside of the seats on your way out. 😜
If I put the mask on, it’s not only easier but also just more effective to leave it on and mess with it as little as possible. The first rule of thumb for this whole pandemic was avoid touching your face! 😄

I'm an NHS worker so masks are just second nature. I haven't been anyplace really busy indoors without one. Having said that I'm very tempted to go to the pub and watch the Scotland match Friday. Ive not really been anyplace for a drink since "vertical drinking" was reinstated. I've got a funny feeling copious amounts of alcohol will be needed.

@Th3solution Good point, well made (and I'm not just saying that because you thoughtfully adopted the term "bums" instead of "butts" when talking to a pair of Brits)!

@R1spam I did think it would take a while for me to get used to not wearing my mask less once I stopped wearing it at all times (pre-vaccine, during lockdowns etc.) but actually it took about... half a day.