please empty your brain below
The government is under the impression that things will sort of go back to the way they were, they won't, even if there is a vaccine, companies have noticed that they still function without staff in an office, and the staff have noticed the 'pay rise' that not commuting and spending on food has given them.
I work in large London branch of a certain relatively middle class supermarket. We've been provided with both disposable and washable masks...an offer that many of my colleagues don't seem keen on taking up.
Those that have picked up a batch of masks tend to wear them either below the nose, or let them clamp on to their chin. Which seems like a somewhat pointless application of a mask to me...and these are staff members who - like me - are primarily till-based and as such are in pretty constant close proximity to customers for a good eight hours a day. I could count the shop floor staff wearing them on a busy Saturday on one hand.
When it comes to customers - they just aren't wearing them. Hopefully this will change on the 24th...
The mask situation strikes me as yet another example of weak messaging from the goverment at a time when not being declarative about certain things costs lives.
People need to be told how to put a mask on, how to make the wearing of one actually worthwhile, why they must wear it, and where they need to wear it.
As it stands, I get on a packed bus to work surrounded by maskless passegners (many of whome spend the duration of their journey talking loudly on the phone etc) to stand with maskless colleagues to serve maskless customers.
Which doesn't feel too great.
I've fixed it now, but our lack of collective pedantry disappoints me.
I'm wondering whether this is being put about to stop those who've had the virus believing that they are no longer at risk, so not following best safe practice.
Back in June my wife spent two consecutive week-ends in hospital. She was tested both times for Covid 19. The first was negative, the second positive.
Both being over 70, we had already self-isolated from the world at large. However we decided it was impracticable for me to isolate myself at home.
Neither of us showed any symptoms whatsoever.
We had regular phone calls from the hospital to check my wife's progress.
Last week she was called back for a check-up and after a number of checks she was told that she does have antibodies.
She was then told that, because there was some uncertainty about the duration of immunity they would be calling her back in a month's time to check again.
- winter wave "could be much worse"
- Blackburn could be another Leicester
- "significant normality" by Christmas, maybe
Not exactly "things that happened" are they.
The "thing that happened in each case" is "somebody expressed an opinion that..." and was reported in the media.
dg writes: Should've complained 18 weeks ago.
Really? I thought the 'should only be used by key workers' message stopped weeks ago!
During April-May I sometimes took the bus when the shopping I was getting for a shielding person was too heavy to carry to their house - and felt guilty every single time!
But for the past month I've been taking the bus to the bigger supermarkets near me with no such exhortations being broadcast!
Now they're just saying we can't stand - which is ridiculous when sitting means being in closer proximity to another passenger!
Mask avoidance on the tube was unbelievably high, about 25% - all the non-complying were under 30, across all races/cultures/genders etc. Even worse on TfL Rail - about 50%. These idiots are threatening everyone else's life/health.
Just two 'older' people seen all day on my rail journeys without masks - one thinking that under-the-chin was sufficient, as his mate couldn't hear what he was saying otherwise, and the other looked like she may have been exempt.
While I appreciate that transport staff are not there to be attacked, nothing is making people wear masks. A woman BTP constable was patrolling Reading station without a mask while her two male uniformed companions were duly covered up - not a great example to set.
People 'know' they will not be stopped - TfL publicise they stopped x thousand from boarding but out of several millions still travelling each day, the odds still favour the self-centred.
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