Covid, long covid, now this new strain. And still people are going unchallenged for not wearing masks in supermarkets, which are obviously very busy. There seems to be no one enforcing the laws around here. The staff say they have no power to ask them to mask up or leave.

Non essential shops closed in Tier 4 areas from today - making supermarkets even busier! And the other shops in tier 2&3 zones will be flooded with shoppers coming in from tier 4 zones, spreading the new super quick spread variant.

Quote: Alfred J Kipper @ 20th December 2020, 3:24 PM

The staff say they have no power to ask them to mask up or leave.

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Not sure that's true - "the management reserve the right" etc etc
But it's a huge ask of some minimum wage shelf-stacker to confront a, usually, male, slightly thug-ish looking oik.
Two thing - 1) shops should have been given funds to employ basic security (more jobs) and 2) take mask wearing seriously.
Boris did everything he could to avoid mandating mask wearing - and is still regularly seen without one.

I don't wear one when I walk down to the local Coop to get my wife's newspaper etc, because I have mild COPD and find it a struggle with one when any exertion is involved. However, I do put one on when I enter the store and remove it on exit.

I was advised once that I can get some sort of exemption pass to hang around my neck a la security tag, but have never bothered and no one has said anything to me in the street.

Quote: Hercules Grytpype Thynne @ 20th December 2020, 4:01 PM

However, I do put one on when I enter the store and remove it on exit.

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That's because you're a decent bloke - you do the right thing, even though it makes you feel uncomfortable.
I'm the same - hate the bloody things- virtually hold my breath round the whole shop.
The trouble is, In general, mask 'rebels' tend to be a bit c***ish - so it's a lot to ask ordinary people to deal with them.
That's what the rozzers are for.

Quote: Lazzard @ 20th December 2020, 5:13 PM

That's because you're a decent bloke - you do the right thing, even though it makes you feel uncomfortable.
I'm the same - hate the bloody things- virtually hold my breath round the whole shop.
The trouble is, In general, mask 'rebels' tend to be a bit c***ish - so it's a lot to ask ordinary people to deal with them.
That's what the rozzers are for.

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Thank you.

The non wearers I've seen, and have to say not many, have been in all aged groups, but mostly young (20 to 30) men.

Quote: Hercules Grytpype Thynne @ 21st December 2020, 12:34 AM

Thank you.

The non wearers I've seen, and have to say not many, have been in all aged groups, but mostly young (20 to 30) men.

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Fascinating but wrong - it isn't to be fair about any specific category. Rather that how you perceive it is what your sexual focus is on as when they are mask-less you can see too much of their lips to prevent an overly obvious bulge - I think the biggest non mask wearers are women over 97 but only those who do peephole.

(One liner....one world)

Quote: Lazzard @ 20th December 2020, 3:53 PM

Two thing - 1) shops should have been given funds to employ basic security (more jobs) and 2) take mask wearing seriously.

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Smaller shops are lenient because they want the trade and feel unfairly treated after lockdowns passed a lot of their trade onto the supermarkets who've enjoyed the best year on record. The 4 supermarkets in town here all have a permanent security guard inside the entrance but I've never seen them stop non mask wearers coming in.

Quote: Alfred J Kipper @ 21st December 2020, 2:29 AM

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F**king hilarious

Saw a middle-aged couple in B&M during the week with the woman not wearing a mask, but had the green lanyard round her neck with card holder/badge saying she is exempt owing to whatever medical condition "'Face Mask Exempt'" , so she doesn't get involved in any slanging match.

OK, fair enough, if that's what she wants to do; BUT in my eyes she's asking for trouble. I have COPD (a sort of mild emphysema lung disease) and so am prime candidate for death if I catch rona. Therefore, although it makes breathing slightly more difficult, I wear a mask all the time in shops and do a big swerve (or they do) if I cross someone's path outside.

So, lady in the shop - I'd rather be slightly out of breath sometimes, than be fighting for breath in some ICU.

ALSO - shopping as a couple? Why are both out? Just send the bloke in - I'm sure he can handle a bit of shopping.

They had a small child with them too, who I presume was a grandchild, and he looked as though he'd rather have been at home with a six pack of Special Brew.

Shopping as group is very much discouraged - but some won't be told.

A new study evaluating COVID-19 responses around the world found that mandatory lockdown orders early in the pandemic did not provide significantly more benefits to slowing the spread of the disease than other voluntary measures, such as social distancing or travel reduction.

The peer reviewed study, which was conducted by a group of Stanford researchers and published in the Wiley Online Library on January 5, analyzed coronavirus case growth in 10 countries in early 2020.

https://www.newsweek.com/covid-lockdowns-have-no-clear-benefit-vs-other-voluntary-measures-international-study-shows-1561656

To be honest the people behind this paper have been banging this drum for some time now.
Also behind The Great Barrington Declaration.
It's an opinion, for sure, just not the majority one.