Yesterday I was walking my dog. It was 3pm and I realised I’d not had any lunch, so I put my mask on and walked into a shop to pick up some food. Two women were standing close by, maskless, leaning over crates of fruits and vegetables, chatting to one another. And I stared.
I found myself so conditioned by the effects and subsequent etiquette of the pandemic, that my eyes widened and I looked at both women, aghast.
Of course, I didn’t know anything about these middle-aged women, their underlying health issues or anxieties. I just assumed that they were doing something wrong and were part of the problem. I felt an urge to say something to them, to ask them not to lean over the food while speaking if they weren’t able to wear masks. I was overcome with the strange pangs of righteous indignation and civic duty – a particular cocktail of emotion that I openly resent in others, it must be said.
My sense of self kicked in soon after, reminding me that whatever the two women were doing was none of my business and also not worth stoking my anxiety over. So I continued with my shopping and exited the shop. ‘What would I even have said to them? They’d probably have been nasty about it.’ I thought to myself.
How should I feel about people who don’t wear masks?
The recent spike in Coronavirus cases and resulting lockdown has prompted conversations among us all about what might have been done differently by governments and experts to prevent the spread of the virus. But of course, we all have a role to play in the events that have unfolded over the last few weeks.
We all react when we see someone not wearing a mask, or indeed, not wearing one properly. I liked every single one of Jane Garvey’s tweets about people on the tube failing to pull theirs up over their noses and my internal alarm would sound whenever I’d see someone’s nose poking over the top of one in a shop or crowded place.
In the beginning we had antimaskers, spreading dangerous rhetoric on social media and protesting in the streets. These people flat-out refuted the science and rejected the fact that wearing a face mask protects others from virus-carrying droplets. It was very easy to be angry at these people, to brand them as ignorant and harmful.
But cultivating feelings and opinions on those who forget to wear a mask properly, who are exempt from wearing one for medical reasons, or who simply forgot to wear one, developing those feelings is harder. Following the initial indignation and sense of civic responsibility, our humanity, anxiety, fear, compassion, they all kick in.
Do we need to wear masks if we’ve had the vaccine?
With the Pfizer and Oxford vaccines approved, many will be more than happy to hang up their masks. However, face coverings expert Edgar van der Linden says that even with vaccines available, masks will be an essential part of our day-to-day life for some time. The recent spike in cases in the UK is directly linked to people mixing in large groups and failing to social distance or wear masks properly, if at all.
Edgar van der Linden is the Medical Business Lead for technical face cover business ISKO Vital™+. Van der Linden believes we should continue to be cautious and abide by safety precautions which have become second nature to many of us. He says, “The rollout of the vaccine is a huge step forward in the fight against COVID-19. However, there is still a long road ahead of us and we cannot be complacent with the precautions we have been taking such as washing our hands regularly, socially distancing and wearing a face cover to protect ourselves and others around us.
Without wishing to diminish the progress taking place, we know there is still a long road ahead of us. Customers are asking us how long into 2021 they’ll need to plan for having a supply of reusable face coverings on hand, and while we can’t predict the future, we don’t anticipate any major changes to rules about social distancing or wearing face coverings at least until the latter half of the year.
Of course this will vary from country to country, but it’s unlikely we’ll see administration of the vaccines to the wider population outside the most vulnerable categories until mid 2021 at the earliest. This will mean clean face coverings worn properly will remain an essential part of our lifestyles.
What’s ‘normal’ has been fundamentally altered through months of avoiding crowded places and wearing face coverings in public. And if history is anything to go by, we may find that these behaviours will continue long after the virus is under control. In countries affected by SARS in the early 2000s, for example, many people never stopped wearing face coverings in public places.”
Knowing all this, how do we reconcile our feelings towards those who aren’t wearing masks and if we do find the courage to approach and speak to them about it, what should we say? Health experts have suggested carrying disposable masks when out and about and offering those not wearing masks a fresh, clean spare one.
How to speak to someone not wearing a mask
If the person you offer a mask to refuses your offer, politely and calmly ask why. If they tell you they’re exempt from wearing one, give them your best and leave them alone. However, if the person replies with any of the responses below, there are facts you can calmly and kindly share with them.
If they ‘say, wearing a mask can make you sick’ you can reply and tell them that – masks can become contaminated on the outside surface but the mask itself protects you. If you don’t wash your hands and mask regularly, you could contaminate yourself with foreign droplets on the outer surface. However, the idea that wearing a mask will increase your level of infection, is a myth. There is no evidence to support this claim.
If they say ‘textile masks don’t work’ you can reply and tell them that – cloth masks do reduce the number of respiratory droplets a person releases into the air when talking, sneezing or coughing. The overall number of droplets in the air is reduced when wearing a mask of any kind but yes, some materials are more effective than others.
If they say ‘a ‘breathable’ mesh or lace mask is just as effective as any other type’ you can reply and tell them that – this is simply not true and a tight-knit material and filter pocket design is essential for full protection from contaminated droplets.
If they say that ‘only those with symptoms need to wear masks’ you can reply and tell them that – wearing a mask forms a barrier that traps droplets emitted by the wearer. In other words, if you’re not wearing a mask and you breathe in the same air as an infected person who also isn’t wearing a mask, your risk of acquiring or spreading coronavirus increases. Everyone should wear a mask when mixing with someone from outside their household.
If they say ‘masks deprive the body of oxygen and inhibit normal breathing’ you can reply and tell them that – condensation inside your mask is a sign that it’s working and that droplets are being trapped effectively. Wearing a mask does not cause hypoxia AKA oxygen loss and there is no evidence to support this claim.
A good mask needs to filter as many virus particles as possible and be comfortable and easy to breathe through. Experts strongly recommend filtration efficiency of >90% and I personally suggest that if you can wear one, you should wear one.
I also suggest practicing social distancing, giving others space and respect and always being polite and kind when speaking with others about their choices. Of course, I feel riled up when I see people in shops not wearing masks, especially given that we’ve entered a new lockdown and cases of Coronavirus are soaring. But I also know that I have no right to police other people, their bodies and their choices. The best we can do is familiarise ourselves with what experts like Van der Linden have to say and take the facts seriously.
