Coronavirus (COVID-19)

[Thane of Cawdor]

As a non-scientist I am in no way qualified to participate in this heated debate.  I have no idea of the practical benefit of mask wearing whether positive, neutral or negative. I do, however, form an opinion on the characteristics of posters based on the stridency and fury of their comments. Clearly, as a non-scientist I will skim superficially over a paper such as that below, but the second bullet point may be interesting to some.

•     First empirical report of findings from a Latin American country on antisocial traits associated with compliance with containment measures.

•     Lower levels of empathy and higher levels of Callousness, Deceitfulness, and Risk-taking are associated with lower compliance with containment measures.

•     The increase in COVID-19 cases in the country are not associated with people's adherence to containment measures.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0191886920305377?via%3Dihub

Overall, my own attitude to the thread could be summarised in the WB Yeats quote:

 The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity.

 

[Left Back]

4 minutes ago, Baxter Parp said:

"The researchers reported that fabric face masks “blocked between 62.6% and 87.1% of fine particles, whereas surgical masks protected against an average of 78.2% of fine particles. N95 masks blocked 99.6% of fine particles.”"

https://www.bmj.com/content/372/bmj.n432

I've got loads of others, mate. Masks work.

Selective quoting again.

I’m stunned.

[Todd_is_God]

I'd argue the third was more interesting. It makes the second bullet point moot.

[Baxter Parp]

3 minutes ago, Left Back said:

Selective quoting again.

I’m stunned.

The link's right there, chum.

[H Wragg]

Looking at today's news, there are people going nuts when nothing has happened. Seems a bit strange to me

My wife has been told this afternoon that she's back to 100% WFH until further notice.
She had gone back to going into the office 3 out of the 4 days she works in September and was enjoying it.

She isn't going nuts about it but is mildly pissed off.

[Left Back]

1 minute ago, Baxter Parp said:

The link's right there, chum.

I’ve read that article before.  If you think that’s definitive proof it shows how little you know about language, let alone science.

[Elixir]

Imagine thinking bits of cloth make any tangible difference in the real world, among socialising populations. Just embarrassing at this stage, but too much has been sunk in to row back now.

[Baxter Parp]

3 minutes ago, Left Back said:

I’ve read that article before.  If you think that’s definitive proof it shows how little you know about language, let alone science.

If you'd actually read it you'd know that masks work.

[Left Back]

2 minutes ago, Baxter Parp said:

If you'd actually read it you'd know that masks work.

The article doesn’t even claim masks work.  It’s conjecture, same as any other article you could post.

I’ll give you a clue.  The very last sentence that sums it up uses the words indicated and may.

Thats just talking about cloth masks.  There are many medics/scientists that believe dishing out N95 respirators to the public also wouldn’t work as they’d be incorrectly fitted and overused enough to make them pointless, let alone the cost they would incur for the benefit they’d provide.

you’re really flogging a dead horse here.  It’s been dead for a long time.  Let it go peacefully to the big glue factory in the sky.

[Left Back]

13 minutes ago, Elixir said:

Imagine thinking bits of cloth make any tangible difference in the real world, among socialising populations. Just embarrassing at this stage, but too much has been sunk in to row back now.

Probably worth pointing out that some of those countries mandate actual surgical masks instead of daft bits of cloth.  Germany and Austria are two off the top of my head.

That being said I’m not sure ICU figures should be used for comparison as I’ve said before.  Different countries will have different thresholds for firing an individual into ICU

[Dawson Park Boy]

I’m not getting into this debate about the efficacy of masks as I’m no scientist and I really just don’t know.

However, it makes no difference to me as I refuse to wear one other than on planes, at doctors, dentists and places where the exemption is not recognised.

For me, mask wearing is a step too far along the path of governmental control, diktat, call it what you will.

The most important part of the human body is the head and the face in particular which shows the feelings, the personality, the mood, the very being of the person. To take that away, to my mind, is in so many ways much, much worse and more detrimental to health and well-being than any marginal gain derived from mask wearing.
Facial contact between humans is just so important, even with strangers.

I don’t see Scotland doing any better than England despite the more stringent rules pertaining up here.
Totally unscientific, but I just don’t think they make any difference.

Sorry, they’re not for me.

[Elixir]

4 minutes ago, Left Back said:

Probably worth pointing out that some of those countries mandate actual surgical masks instead of daft bits of cloth.  Germany and Austria are two off the top of my head.

That being said I’m not sure ICU figures should be used for comparison as I’ve said before.  Different countries will have different thresholds for firing an individual into ICU

This is true, of course, but a quick glance and comparison of how countries on the continent are having to react suggests there's more to it than places like Germany simply having more ICU capacity.

[Am Featha Taigh Nan Clach]

Just now, Dawson Park Boy said:

I’m not getting into this debate about the efficacy of masks as I’m no scientist and I really just don’t know.

However, it makes no difference to me as I refuse to wear one other than on planes, at doctors, dentists and places where the exemption is not recognised.

For me, mask wearing is a step too far along the path of governmental control, diktat, call it what you will.

The most important part of the human body is the head and the face in particular which shows the feelings, the personality, the mood, the very being of the person. To take that away, to my mind, is in so many ways much, much worse and more detrimental to health and well-being than any marginal gain derived from mask wearing.
Facial contact between humans is just so important, even with strangers.

I don’t see Scotland doing any better than England despite the more stringent rules pertaining up here.
Totally unscientific, but I just don’t think they make any difference.

Sorry, they’re not for me.

You pissed your pants when airline staff told you to put your mask on when you showed your wee kiddy on exemption pass. 

 

[Dawson Park Boy]

1 minute ago, Am Featha *****h Nan Clach said:

You pissed your pants when airline staff told you to put your mask on when you showed your wee kiddy on exemption pass. 

 

Don’t know what you’re on about?

Long time since I had kiddies

[UsedToGoToCentralPark]

WTF is going on in here.

[Scott Steiner]

10 minutes ago, Dawson Park Boy said:

I’m not getting into this debate about the efficacy of masks as I’m no scientist and I really just don’t know.

However, it makes no difference to me as I refuse to wear one other than on planes, at doctors, dentists and places where the exemption is not recognised.

For me, mask wearing is a step too far along the path of governmental control, diktat, call it what you will.

The most important part of the human body is the head and the face in particular which shows the feelings, the personality, the mood, the very being of the person. To take that away, to my mind, is in so many ways much, much worse and more detrimental to health and well-being than any marginal gain derived from mask wearing.
Facial contact between humans is just so important, even with strangers.

I don’t see Scotland doing any better than England despite the more stringent rules pertaining up here.
Totally unscientific, but I just don’t think they make any difference.

Sorry, they’re not for me.

Do you refuse to wear one in shops?  If so, do you get pulled up?

To be honest, I think the supposed danger of the virus is talked up.  I've never been scared of it.

The only time I've been seriously ill in the last few years was not long after I got the 2nd jab when I ended up catching some other kind of bug that made me sweat like mad to the extent I got a rash where my skin was peeling off and nails falling off and stuff.  They still look fvcked!  Sore joints, hardly any energy, a cough.. horrible times.

I doubt I'll be getting a booster whenever they try to start pressurising everyone.

Good point about facial expressions etc.  This has been going on too long and could have a long term effect on how we interact and how our young learn emotion etc.  It's no' right.

Edited December 7, 2021 by Scott Steiner

[Am Featha Taigh Nan Clach]

On 03/09/2021 at 21:37, Dawson Park Boy said:

Like you I don’t wear a mask and have not been pulled up until today.

Was on a Jet 2 flight to Spain, was admonished for non mask wearing, showed my exemption certificate and was promptly told that Jet2 don’t recognise them. 
Didn’t want any hassle so complied.

 

 

6 minutes ago, Dawson Park Boy said:

Don’t know what you’re on about?

Long time since I had kiddies

 

[Miguel Sanchez]

I wouldn't raise a five year old to be a grass, personally.

[Dawson Park Boy]

Just now, Scott Steiner said:

Do you refuse to wear one in shops?  If so, do you get pulled up?

To be honest, I think the supposed danger of the virus is talked up.  I've never been scared of it.

The only time I've been seriously ill in the last few years was not long after I got the 2nd jab when I ended up catching some other kind of bug that made me sweat like mad to the extent I got a rash where my skin was peeling off and nails falling off and stuff.  They still look fvcked!  Sore joints, hardly any energy, a cough.. horrible times.

I doubt I'll be getting a booster whenever they try to start pressurising everyone.

Never had one on in a shop and never been challenged.

Have had the three jabs plus flu jab plus had Covid.  Fortunately, it was just a mild flu.

Each to his own is my mantra. You have to do what you think is best for yourself and others but NOT what governments tell you to do without due consideration.

[Flatulent Gannet]

Calling @ICTChris. You have had a couple of days to consider, surely time is nigh to put this thread out of our misery ?