[LeatherTrumpet]

and do you know why?

[thesheriff443]

A few people are still wearing masks
Some hospital’s and doctors surgeries still want you to wear a mask while on their site

[GoldHeart]

I don't see many, just a few older people.

[Cherie]

Ocasionally ..usually at the supermarket or waiting at a bus stop

[Oliver_W]

Occasionally. Unless they're "visibly disabled" in some way I assume they might be positive, so stick to a distance

[LeatherTrumpet]

Originally Posted by thesheriff443

A few people are still wearing masks
Some hospital’s and doctors surgeries still want you to wear a mask while on their site

Do you recall when surgeries had a sign on the windows "Please do not enter here if you are ill"

[Niamh.]

Not really, only in medical places like hospitals or Doctor surgeries and that's because you have to still wear them there

[Soldier Boy]

Not really. If you know that YOU have Covid and need to go out and about, you should really wear one as a courtesy. At this point we know it doesn't stop transmission entirely and they don't do much at all to stop you getting it (N95's actually DO help though), but they do reduce your chances of infecting others if you're actively coughing/sneezing. Of course the best answer is still just to stay at home if you're ill.

[Oliver_W]

Originally Posted by Soldier Boy

Not really. If you know that YOU have Covid and need to go out and about, you should really wear one as a courtesy. At this point we know it doesn't stop transmission entirely and they don't do much at all to stop you getting it (N95's actually DO help though), but they do reduce your chances of infecting others if you're actively coughing/sneezing. Of course the best answer is still just to stay at home if you're ill.

and it also gives a visual indicator for others to keep their distance, which is why I avoid the masked

[LeatherTrumpet]

Originally Posted by Soldier Boy

Not really. If you know that YOU have Covid and need to go out and about, you should really wear one as a courtesy. At this point we know it doesn't stop transmission entirely and they don't do much at all to stop you getting it (N95's actually DO help though), but they do reduce your chances of infecting others if you're actively coughing/sneezing. Of course the best answer is still just to stay at home if you're ill.

Cochrane Reviews have become the international gold standard of evidence for medical practice. Cochrane Reviews have been tracking face masks since 2007, with updates in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2020. They found only a few, small, Random Control Trials and the evidence base was rated as low quality. Nevertheless, it suggested little or no benefit from masks. The 2020 review repeated earlier conclusions that it was ‘uncertain’ whether community use of cloth or surgical face masks slowed the spread of respiratory viruses.

A further updated Review has just been published, after the usual thorough peer review. More and larger RCTs are now available. The quality of evidence has been upgraded from low to moderate. The Review strengthens its conclusion to saying there is ‘probably little to no benefit’ from the use of cloth or surgical face masks in the community. It also considered N95/FFP2 masks. The evidence was weaker but suggested that these made little or no difference.

Mask mandates were never evidence-based policy. They simply triggered a search for policy-based evidence. My mask never protected you and yours certainly did not protect me.

https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/do-face-masks-work/

[arista]

"and do you know why?"




Yes LT,
that Lady goes home to Old Gran
she is protecting her old gran.


Nothing wrong with that.

[Vanessa]

Sometimes in the tube or bus.
Everyone is wearing one at hospitals or GPs.

[Zizu]

We’re in Gtr Manchester and I’ve recently noticed that the mobile nurses and the pharmacy delivery guys are all wearing masks .. even when they drive off !


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[LeatherTrumpet]

Originally Posted by arista

"and do you know why?"




Yes LT,
that Lady goes home to Old Gran
she is protecting her old gran.


Nothing wrong with that.

they dont protect at all, that is the scientific findings

[Soldier Boy]

Originally Posted by LeatherTrumpet

they dont protect at all, that is the scientific findings

Some RCT's with moderate quality is quite a long way from conclusive. I don't think they should be mandatory, though to say it was a bad policy at the time is hindsight-based - it was the right decision based on the information available at the time.

[arista]

Originally Posted by LeatherTrumpet

they dont protect at all, that is the scientific findings

Look LT
let her buy the shopping
and on
going home, Gran is happy
she had a mask on.


Not a problem.

[Glenn.]

What’s the issue? Why are you triggered by a face mask?

[LeatherTrumpet]

Originally Posted by arista

Look LT
let her buy the shopping
and on
going home, Gran is happy
she had a mask on.


Not a problem.

Gran needs to start reading the peer reviewed studies and stop watching Loose woman and reading her Cosy Feet catalogue for extra wide slippers

[Soldier Boy]

Originally Posted by Glenn.

What’s the issue? Why are you triggered by a face mask?

Indeed. Loosely, I can understand why people might be against mandatory mask policies at this point... but why would anyone care about a few random strangers choosing to wear one .

[GoldHeart]

It's up to people if they want to wear one still .
East Asian people were wearing them in the UK .....long before COVID even existed ,but I think that was based on their culture and air pollution.

[LeatherTrumpet]

Originally Posted by GoldHeart

It's up to people if they want to wear one still .
East Asian people were wearing them in the UK .....long before COVID even existed ,but I think that was based on their culture and air pollution.

yes certainly that was the case in Japan

[Soldier Boy]

It's considered impolite in a lot of Japan to not wear a mask if you even have a cold. I thought it might be more normalised here after Covid but evidence suggests not!

[bitontheslide]

i know it gives me confidence in a crowded place if i see people masked up. The one thing i know about science and was shown multiple times over the course of the pandemic is that scientific opinion can change with the wind

[LeatherTrumpet]

Originally Posted by bitontheslide

i know it gives me confidence in a crowded place if i see people masked up. The one thing i know about science and was shown multiple times over the course of the pandemic is that scientific opinion can change with the wind

Cochrane Reviews have been tracking face masks since 2007, with updates in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2020.

The only thing that could change would be the type of mask because nowt else will including the size of virus particles and the fluidity of air

[Soldier Boy]

Proper N95 use does reduce transmission in clinical settings though, these studies are all of public settings, so it's not that masks make zero difference at all just negligible the way they're being used. So technically... If everyone started using the best masks and fitting them properly, it would probably help.

Your chances of catching Covid at a random public place are tiny though. It's usually group gatherings, workplaces, schools etc.