No Rain Mask Day

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The use of face coverings in shops and other enclosed public spaces became mandatory in England today, having only previously been required on public transport. Although I've been out and about, meeting friends for a socially distanced glass of prosecco in a sunny garden this afternoon and also driving my mother to the local hospital earlier, I didn't need to wear one. It was however interesting listening to a debate raging on the radio as I returned home at lunchtime. We really do have any number of crackpots living in this country who think their civil liberties are being infringed by a requirement to cover their nose and mouth. Come on guys; this pandemic isn't a hoax and you really don't have to enter those places, if you don't want to comply with the rules.

I thought that even in Medieval times it was considered that masks could provide some protection against pestilence and plague. Didn't the doctor in the 1600’s use a mask with a bird-like beak when endeavouring to treat patients? Maybe there are some people who genuinely think not and that such items exist, only with actors, in places like the York Dungeon to scare you.

I've gone into production on a factory wide scale (cottage industry, not sweatshop) and have been wearing them in supermarkets since the Government finally conceded that they could help mitigate the effect of contact in close spaces.  Okay, maybe I'm becoming paranoid after all. However, if wearing one was what it was going to take to have my hair cut this week, then I certainly wasn't going to glue myself to the hair salon window in protest. All this talk about being unable to cut hair with elastic around the ears, my stylist managed it and that despite her own mask and visor.

Still I'm baulking at helping out in the charity shop. Masks and hand sanitiser are provided with volunteers cleaning everything constantly. Whilst I commend those who can do so, offering my services in the middle of the current outbreak, when I need to stay healthy to visit my mother regularly, doesn't seem right. Also I don't think Mister E would be bestowing me with praise if I happened to bring a little extra something home. After all, if it was safe, we wouldn't have legislation enforcing the use of masks or the Health Secretary highlighting in Parliament the risks faced by retail workers. 

So, as ever, I'm continuing with the easy life and hiding from harm's way; venturing into shops occasionally and only when I have to. The difficult thing for the moment will be remembering to ensure that I am actually carrying a supply of masks. As we were leaving my mother's home this morning to pick up batteries for her hearing aids, I thought I had best check that she had one with her, knowing that she would need it to enter the hospital. 

"Have you got a mask?" I asked.

"What do I need that for?" she replied, "It isn't going to rain."



Comments

Mona McGinnis said…
I'm reminded of the days when I carried a diaper bag with all the essentials. Now, the "covid" bag comes with me stocked with wipes, masks, tissues and there's a disposal bin in the car.
25 July 2020 at 14:27
Caree Risover said…
So true, I was just thinking I need a bigger bag.
25 July 2020 at 14:45
Treaders said…
Ha ha, your mom's comment about "it isn't going to rain" made me laugh. God love 'er! Masks are mandatory here in France too now and I haven't heard anything about anyone whingeing about having to wear them - and God knows the French can whinge!
25 July 2020 at 19:48
Caree Risover said…
Being hard of hearing creates laughter on occasions as well as frustration. However, it demonstrated the point that when we are so accustomed to rain showers ( even if the forecast says the weather will be dry), it could take time to think mask when normally it’s just Mac.
26 July 2020 at 07:34
Jennyff said…
We too are masked in Italy, everyone seems to comply even outdoors. I am totally in favour of their use but my goodness they do inhibit conversation and put a downer on the usually vibrant atmosphere. No chat from shopkeepers and when smile at people I wonder if they know.
27 July 2020 at 10:43
Caree Risover said…
Not to mention the tendency to shout when you do try to hold a conversation wearing one.
27 July 2020 at 11:18
Pat WD said…
I've definitely added to my leave-the-house-checklist. "Keys, Phone, Glasses, Mask". We've gone "mandatory" as well, but today at the zoo (yes, it's open, by reservation to limit numbers) about 40% of people were not wearing them, even though it was "mandatory masks in any area where less than 6-ft social distancing not possible"... which means at any spot you're looking at animals. My friend and I ended up never removing ours... and backing away from seeing animals a few times to avoid people not being compliant. There's also the "wear it but not over your nose" approach, because you don't exhale through your nose, right? If folks would just get on the program... maybe we wouldn't be having thousands of new cases every single day.
28 July 2020 at 21:11
Caree Risover said…
Yes, I don't understand what the issue is for some people. However, our new legal regulations are finally available on the Internet and I seriously cannot believe them. It is an offence not to wear a face covering in shops, indoor shopping precincts, banks and Post Offices but not public libraries, doctors' surgeries, cinemas, museums, indoor zoos(!),premises providing professional, legal, or financial services, funeral directors', casinos, dance halls, tatoo parlours, hair salons and so the list goes on.. Fortunately the guidance given to many of those businesses is only to permit customers wearing masks so every hairdresser I am aware of is insisting on them, as too are doctors and hospitals as well as the offices of many of my former professional colleagues. Clearly, the Government thinks the virus can tell the difference between a building for retail and one for pretty much anything else.
28 July 2020 at 21:32
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