Non medical face masks

Bulk supplies of these will need to be freely and widely available ie everywhere before any loosening of lockdown. There's pictures of mass issuing of face coverings in many countries eg at transport hubs and retail outlets. Is this being arranged?

Why the contribution is important

Wide availability will make wearing of coverings in the community more widely socially acceptable.

by Pungler on May 05, 2020 at 01:38PM

Current Rating

Average rating: 3.2
Based on: 7 votes

Comments

  • Posted by AliH68 May 05, 2020 at 13:52

    Agree. This should be being actively considered now. Other countries are providing supplies of non-surgical face masks via vending machines at transport hubs. Wearing of face coverings needs to be made compulsory on all public transport .

  • Posted by Hamish May 05, 2020 at 13:53

    One of the things that confuses (and concerns) me when I hear talk of face masks is that they don't seem to be easily available. Okay, two-thirds of the population seem to be wearing them, but where are they getting them and, if they were on a strict budget, how much are they costing? If there was to be a regulation that we must wear face masks then they must be made freely available to the population before the rule comes into force.

  • Posted by sl806e May 05, 2020 at 13:55

    Wearing face masks should only be compulsory on occasions where close contact is expected e.g on public transport.

  • Posted by AWood May 05, 2020 at 13:56

    There are important issues that haven't been discussed enough in public by decision makers: 1. There should be a minimum standard of non-medical masks 2. There must be easy-to-understand guidelines on the use and cleaning of non-medical masks otherwise you risk more infection in the community. 3. Don't assume everybody can sew masks themselves! There are all sorts of issues with obtaining and using face coverings. 4. Face coverings can cause equality issues, e.g. for the hard of hearing relying on lip reading or visually-impaired people using glare shields over glasses which makes the wearing of face coverings painful behind the ears and in damp weather steam up the glasses.

  • Posted by Balderdash May 06, 2020 at 18:58

    I am against any mandatory introduction of face coverings given the weak evidence of effectiveness and the need to use correctly. They cause difficulties for glasses wearers, especially children (it is hard enough to get glasses to fit a child well without factoring in a face covering / shield) and often result in people touching their faces / masks more as they adjust them constantly.
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