“I heard you on the World At One – good interview. A marked contrast to some of the rubbish that is being broadcast re Covid-19.
The Government is, at least, partly to blame for the rubbish due to lack of clarity and consistency. While I appreciate the complexity of a novel and changing situation, I think the Government could do better, and also take the media to task for their incompetence.
For instance. The PM made a clear distinction between a face mask and a face covering, yet the terms are used indiscriminately by most people.
Also on WATO another interviewee referred to the social distancing space being reduced to 1m, but when the PM announced the change he made it clear that is was 1m+, i.e. 2m is STILL preferred but 1m was OK if there were compensating factors that gave the same protection as achieved at 2m.
There is an incoherent and simplistic debate about a mandatory requirement to wear a face mask in all shops. I can understand the logic of saying that if a mask shall be worn on crowed transport so they should also be worn in crowed shops. But not all shops are the same and not all shops are always crowded.
In Bromyard this morning I bought a loaf of bread in the artisan bakers. There is a sign outside saying only one person allowed in the shop at a time – I was the only person. They have a plastic screen at the counter providing separation between staff and customer. So, to require me to wear a mask for the minute I was in the shop achieves nothing of any value.
Similarly in the COOP, where I am able to choose times when there are few customers and we are all well spaced, follow the one-way system and are keeping 2m apart.
A universal rule called for by some seems more like stupid and ignorant people believing if someone else has the rule then so should we. Labour, of course, will jump on anything that they think will show the Government to be in the wrong.
We heard at the beginning of Lockdown about what is and is not achieved by the General Public wearing a face mask (not those for health workers but something much cruder). The only benefit is to catch droplets from people with the virus when they cough. The point has been made that if people are symptomatic they should be self isolating in any event.
Recently there is a view that the virus can hang around in the air for some time, rather than falling to the ground as with the droplets. We know viruses are extremely small, so small they can not be seen with a conventional microscope. It therefore seems to me that such small particles will go straight through any face mask other than something that has been explicitly design to catch them; and I have not heard anyone offer an opinion on whether such a thing is possible while still allowing the wearer to breath. So if these viruses, potentially hanging around in the air and are a hazard then it seems likely there is nothing we can do to protect ourselves from them in any event.
Masks that do not seal effectively round the edges are of little use because as you breath the air flow will primarily go through the path of least resistance, the gap round rather than through.
But masks that are good seals can be problematic. I was in a shop recently 2m behind a lady at the counter who was hoping to be able to buy another face mask because the one she was wearing was so restrictive that she was finding it difficult to breath. It seems this is an inevitable compromise, though no doubt top quality designs will be less of a compromise, all be it at a top quality price.
If you wear a mask on the assumption that it could be beneficial, no matter how marginal that benefit might be, then the corollary is that when you remove it you must assume it has trapped the virus and is now a contaminated object that can spread the virus if not handled correctly. So, what do you do? Having dutifully put your mask on before going into the supermarket what do you do with it when you get back in the car? Do you carefully remove it so as not to be contaminated by it and then double-bag it, as you should, for safe disposal later? And do you go through the same procedure with a new mask on the way home when stopping for petrol?
I caught the back end of Mark Miodownik on WATO, talking a great deal of sense as usual. His point was that single-use masks lead to a VERY large waste pile; evidence already of them being discarded into the environment and finding their way into the sea. Multiple use masks can be put through the washing machine and used again. But even he did not make clear at what temperature: low temperature washes are encouraged because they use less energy but the Covid-19 virus, as I understand it, does not mind cold but does not like heat – again, partial information.
Miodownik said waste is a big problem. Single use masks put in a waste bid are a health hazard to those who empty the bin. Hospitals have the facilities to incinerate them.
Given that face masks have been worn by many people in various countries there surely must be an evidence base as to what they have achieved. It proves nothing to say that where masks have been worn there are fewer infections – correlation is not proof of causation. If face masks (outside hospitals) have been beneficial in reducing the spread of the virus then surely there must be the evidence somewhere. And if not why not? It is going to be pretty stupid to embark on a vast contaminated waste problem for no practical benefit.
If the Government is going to introduce new rules as to the wearing of face masks then they need to cite the basis on which such a decision is justified and to make explicit the specification of the mask that is needed to achieve the job they required of it. They must also make clear exactly how to use and dispose of the mask. Announcing this once in a press conference is not good enough. The full information should be available on the Gov web site. And for the benefit of the elderly and those without internet access, a Public Service Information Film must be made and broadcast periodically by our Public Service Broadcaster, the BBC. That way we will all be aware of the sound basis on which such policy has been formulated and that it is complete and coherent.”
Tories appear to have taken ”A John Major route” to losing both next GE 2024 Election and cultural ,University debates etc..As an Independent I dont Care if Lib-Lab-Cons-Snp-Greens=Plaid fade….2% of SARS2 deaths are due to that Virus,(Which I believe will go by September) 2nd wave already has been in mid April. 98% of 44,000 deaths are people over 65, with underlying illnesses..
Bonkers boris seems in hoc to Chinese,CCP,;(Nuclear,Manufacture) I cannot see Small businesses or People seeing their Countryside being trashed by Gigantic housing estates….Wake up to Wokes….The Next Generation is based on ”Feeling” Not Logic,or Proper Scientific research ie ”Climate Change” instead of Volcanoes,Meoteorites ,etc Real effect on Our World’s Climate…..Change or perish see youtube New Culture Forum Channel ..with Peter Whittle,Marc Sidwell,Melanie Phillips etc…
Good post. Good letter. I’ve just been to my local shop and stuffed a scarf into my bag first ‘just in case’. Headline screaming must wear mask. No sign of this in shop so I commented to manageress who explained it would be compulsory July 24.
Now the above letter to an MP. All I can say, as I did before, If I must have one you must supply it free! Even then with chronic breathing problem I should be exempt.
However, the MAIN problem IS the GROSS infringement of our LIBERTIES this government is introducing.
When I got home, just having a pee, land line phone rang. County Council, checking up on me. ‘Courtesy call’ to make sure I was O.K. for food and medicines.
It was only after I finished talking to her, it struck me. How did THEY get my phone number? Presumably from my doctor. Patient records are supposed to be confidential. So much for Data Protection!
FACE MASKS ARE BAD but TRACK AND TRACE IS VERY VERY BAD. As we know they put all your data on Facebook.
LET US TRY THE TRUTH ! ….. The people who call the Commons or the Lords their place of work, to different extents know nothing of the specifics of this virus, or viruses in general. – This is why they call on ‘Experts’ for deliberations on this problem ! ….. We therefore start out with a ‘second-hand opinion’, that is slavishly repeated by those who haven’t a clue !
We also know the difference between doing something, or appearing to be doing something, (An act of the politico to keep on side with the public) ! – Now it could be argued, that wearing a cheap covering over the nose and mouth has some benefit, and that is correct to an extent but needs to be understood in fact. – Virus droplets, coming in or going out will be caught by the covering to the estimated extent of 5%. – It is far more pertinent for people to be seen waring a mask, to advertise the danger to all of us. – It amounts to an exercise in ‘Kidology’ !
Not for one moment am I being against an anti-virus mask, but its use needs to be honestly evaluated. – The full covering, as seen in hospitals, is as good as it has become. – Repeat use of full cover, or the people’s cheap masks, must be understood as dangerous, and only incineration of such after use, can deal with the risk totally !
The problem with politicians is that they are almost “untouchable” and certainly unreachable.
‘Untouchable’ accurately covers it! Now……don’t I remember that in India the lowest caste is also described as ‘untouchable’? Certainly they are ‘unreachable’, cowardly, lily livered and despicable!
The government is in totally uncharted waters. People like certainties in life but in the situation we find ourselves, there are no certainties.
You just have to accept the fact that no-one knows and we shall only be able to judge how the covid affair has been handled four or five years down the road.
Hindsight is a jolly fine thing,
My own view is that, given the above, there were no alternatives to the decisions taken.
Stable door and a bolting horse come to mind.
Medical Officer Jenny Haris advised that with summer here, this is going to be as good as it gets with this virus, which seems to dislike hot, dry weather but loves cool, damp weather. If we therefore are required to wear masks at a time when the virus may not be particularly virulent, what will we be expected to do when it returns in winter? Full-on hazmat suits? Hard lockdown?
Face masks
. Viruses are too small to be filtered. In fact in days gone by scientists spent a lot of time peering into microscopes looking for them. They are so small they can only be “seen” by use of an electron microscope. They knew they were there and were referred to as unfilterable baccilii.
So how does the face mask work? Well the holes in the fabric are far too big to mechanically trap a virus. The face mask is damp from your breathe and the minute particles of snot and spit floating in the air containing the virus stick to the fabric. Think of a forest of fly papers.
However, when you take the mask off, it dries out and the viruses can be released which is why it should be destroyed/disposed of immediately. They should NEVER be reused. They should not be washed as the tiny branches on the main textile strands are broken off and the mask becomes much less effective.
Face masks fall down because they can’t be sealed to your face, ie there’s an air leak all round the edge. Beards make things even worse. A subsidiary benefit is they stop you touching your nose/mouth, the main method of transmission of the disease.
The life of viruses outside their hosts is very variable. Some like it hot, some like it cold, our covid apparently likes it cold. (Bad news). Some can’t survive dessication. More bad news, our covid apparently can.
Masks are to trap droplets, not an individual virus.
JF
This is an excellent letter. Sadly, because what it portrays is quite simply the truth, it is unanswerable. Therefore I will be surprised if that MP replies, much less defend the obviously indefensible! I haven’t had a reply from my MP to my last three letters! They are all hiding out from an electorate that has more brain and logical reasoning than any of them can hope to muster from the paucity of their cerebral resources!
Having read this excellently phrased piece I am in despair. This is because it so clearly shows what I have suspected for some considerable time ie this Government is peopled by E grade idiots and dunces And led by a Grade A buffoon! They blow hither and thither according to whichever way the latest ‘science’ fanatic is in the current ascendancy!
Where oh where is the new and ‘proper’ Conservative party that has long been foretold!
Bill Wiggin or one of his elves usually replies. I pester him quite often. (I live in the same area as to OP.)
However he’s no smarter than any of the rest of them.
The last time we had anything remotely resembling a conservative (small ‘c’) party was when Thatcher was leader. It’s been tacking leftwards to garner every single woke vote it can since then.
That is indubitably true. Oh to have Maggie back again! She knew how to trounce all the ‘wets’.
Tony1825, I absolutely agree with you 100%. The supposed Conservative Party that we are lumbered with at the moment is a totally fake conservative party. Apart from the Brexit issue which is their only saving grace at the moment, the way they have ruled over us is an absolute disgrace, and we are only eight months into this administration They don’t seem to have an ounce of original thought between them and all the decisions they have made thus far are knee jerk reactions and to fall in line with other European nations. The Conservatives seem to be in a race with the Labour Party to see who can come up with the most left wing policies to trash our economy and curtail our hard fought freedoms and liberties. I am sick of the constant negativity that is pelted in our direction and object to being spoken down to as if we are naughty children who cannot be trusted. We are in desperate desperate need of an alternative political party that will protect our individual freedoms and civil liberties, which will act in the best interests of the British public, and one that will promote true social conservative ideals, values and policies. Thankfully just such a party will hopefully come onto the scene within a few months……..
I used to support Maggie, but I have to say that while her attention was on Strikes and Soviet Union, she failed to notice the slow march through the instututions especially local councils, where the marxist agenda was silently advancing. This advanced considerably under her watch, unnoticed by her.
Mary In fairness the ‘long march through the institutions’ has been going on since the 1920s. They have achieved much and gained even more ground when the corporatists joined forces with the liberal left.
Since the Bliar Gov I have never received an acknoldgement or reply to the many more than three letters I have sent to my mps.
BB (before Bliar) I always got a reply, even though it might be ”I don’t agree, buzz off’.
I often think of Adam Faith who was asked for an autograph. Faith was tired after the concert and said no. The fan said ‘we can make you, and we can break you’.
Dunces? Fools? Or deliberate? Horrible feeling we are all being played through the Gates connection. Handmaids tale anyone….?
Why give the government permission to determine what should and shouldn’t be done? They work for us and we pay them well for what they do or don’t do. If you believe that your local poseur isn’t up to the job, take ACTION. Set about recalling him and replacing him (or her). Everyone else has an annual review at work, don’t they? Why should an MP be any different? But, for goodness sake, don’t wait around for ‘the government’.
Did you get a reply? I note you did not request the Gov risk assessment for the effects of mask wearing on the user!
They’re too embarrassed by the very real danger of a bus driver crashing his bus through fainting from lack of oxygen or passengers falling onto railway lines etc. I think they are deliberately spitting in the faces of the suckers who’ve voted for them; and laugh at the sad mockery they’ve made of everyday life, as human beings are reduced to masked ghouls jumping out of each other’s way. Bill Gates must be laughing his head off.
Alan,
This is a purely political problem.
All politicians insist that they know
.Politicians cannot by their nature admit to not knowing.
Almost no politician knows enough to know anything. not political.and will probably not consider it.
Unfortunately they are supported by the media who are the same.
Scattered amongst these are those who would like to know.
Some do not see the point of it all without at least one fact.
I am sorry. I cannot help.
Most MPs will Not reply individually if at all….they are heaping up their own demise
The truth of the matter is that most MP’s do not even get to read the majority of letters and emails sent them by their constituents. They are intercepted by secretaries and the like who filter them out according to importance etc.