Are people wearing masks in your office?

OMM 0000

I had to visit two offices today (not Ireland) and no one in any of the offices were wearing masks. Everyone laughing and talking and coughing and acting like they've never heard of COVID-19.

I've read a lot of studies on covid and there are a couple of things which are clear:

* Masks protect other people from you, rather than protecting you from other people. Basically masks catch droplets which reduces the amount of virus you emit and also reduces how far the virus travels.

* The virus floats in the air (at viable potency) for up to 16 hours.

* The virus spreads up to roughly 7 metres around you.

So all it will take is one person to get infected and a large group of people in the office will also get infected. It's just luck it hasn't happened so far.

I know a lot of people don't read or dig into things, so I don't expect them to understand everything about covid, but surely they're aware it exists and that it spreads from person to person? I don't understand.

Do you have an issue like this in your office? Why is it happening? Does anyone care?

JustAThought

what country OP?

OMM 0000

JustAThought wrote: »

what country OP?

Japan, where mask use is fairly high, so I'm thinking things must be a nightmare in the West.

NIMAN

Yeah, masks have been mandatory for the last few months. Before that it was only when you got up from your desk to move around.

Now, only time you can take your mask off it to go eat or have a coffee.

is_that_so

OMM 0000 wrote: »

I had to visit two offices today (not Ireland) and no one in any of the offices were wearing masks. Everyone laughing and talking and coughing and acting like they've never heard of COVID-19.

I've read a lot of studies on covid and there are a couple of things which are clear:

* Masks protect other people from you, rather than protecting you from other people. Basically masks catch droplets which reduces the amount of virus you emit and also reduces how far the virus travels.

* The virus floats in the air (at viable potency) for up to 16 hours.

* The virus spreads up to roughly 7 metres around you.

So all it will take is one person to get infected and a large group of people in the office will also get infected. It's just luck it hasn't happened so far.

I know a lot of people don't read or dig into things, so I don't expect them to understand everything about covid, but surely they're aware it exists and that it spreads from person to person? I don't understand.

Do you have an issue like this in your office? Why is it happening? Does anyone care?

This seems to be more about your own personal issues with COVID. It's not really a general requirement apart from in retail and companies make their own decisions.

OMM 0000

NIMAN wrote: »

Yeah, masks have been mandatory for the last few months. Before that it was only when you got up from your desk to move around.

Now, only time you can take your mask off it to go eat or have a coffee.

Are people following the rules?

Is there punishment if you ignore them?

That's one of the issues with Asia in general, lots of regulation but almost zero enforcement.

The Continental Op

NIMAN wrote: »

Yeah, masks have been mandatory for the last few months. Before that it was only when you got up from your desk to move around.

Now, only time you can take your mask off it to go eat or have a coffee.

Out of interest who supplies the masks?

OMM 0000

is_that_so wrote: »

This seems to be more about your own personal issues with COVID.

The science isn't my own personal issue with COVID.

What are you trying to say?

NIMAN

OMM 0000 wrote: »

Are people following the rules?

Is there punishment if you ignore them?

That's one of the issues with Asia in general, lots of regulation but almost zero enforcement.

Yeah, rules being followed ok.

People are monitoring compliance. I don't know of anyone getting any punishment but if you continued to ignore the rules, it wouldn't be long before your manager was informed and he'd have to have a word with you.

NIMAN

The Continental Op wrote: »

Out of interest who supplies the masks?

The company supplied every employee with a handful of washable cotton masks at the start of it all last year.

And you can get replacement ones in the stores dept.

Many are now using their own masks as well, most of the population have been buying their own over the last year I'd guess.

OMM 0000

NIMAN wrote: »

Yeah, rules being followed ok.

People are monitoring compliance. I don't know of anyone getting any punishment but if you continued to ignore the rules, it wouldn't be long before your manager was informed and he'd have to have a word with you.

That's good.

theteal

London office is not open.
Malta office is semi-open. All people on site wearing masks. They've had a little surge in cases last few days too.
The guys in Florida are shy so don't put on their cameras so I'm not sure over there tbh. I know the senior guys with their own offices are not wearing them.
I can't recall any meetings with other sites so not sure what the craic is in other countries.

is_that_so

OMM 0000 wrote: »

The science isn't my own personal issue with COVID.

What are you trying to say?

Well, it's not all the science, it's a snapshot of some of the more alarming bits of it. That you have formed your own judgement of others based on your own personal view of the risk of the virus. I'd say mask up and distance or stay out of offices if you can.

The Continental Op

is_that_so wrote: »

Well, it's not all the science, it's a snapshot of some of the more alarming bits of it. That you have formed your own judgement of others based on your own personal view of the risk of the virus. I'd say mask up and distance or stay out of offices if you can.

He's not the only one to form those views. I'd agree 100% with the OP understanding of the science.

JustAThought

OP - very surprised to hear that Japan of all places isn’t compliant or wearing masks!

Here (Ireland!) it’s masks everywhere and people taking it seriously - that said most people are working from home ( mandatory where possible) and all non essential businesses are shut. Legally obliged to wear them on public transport snd in the few shops and retail units that are open so people are - and are being either doorstopped by a staff member on the way in and made wear one and wash their hands or heckled to not go in


Also you’re supposed to wear one in places in public where you cannot help avoid being close to
other people - eg congeated paths, bus stops on narrow paths etc and to my huge surprise people are! Also when q’ing outside on the street for take-aways/coffees etc
So - its taken seriously here!

whats the story with the olympics OP - much buzz there or are they going ahead?

ThewhiteJesus

no mask at desk but anywhere else yes, and there is very few of us in the office so yes i'd say it's safe

NIMAN

ThewhiteJesus wrote: »

no mask at desk but anywhere else yes, and there is very few of us in the office so yes i'd say it's safe

That's the way we were up until the latest wave at the turn of the year, then the company made it compulsory at your desk too.

A pain, but can see where they were coming from.

is_that_so

The Continental Op wrote: »

He's not the only one to form those views. I'd agree 100% with the OP understanding of the science.

It's a factoid, a true one, but a small part of the science. There are a whole lot of other things that need to happen before someone can potentially contract COVID, especially a bad dose of it. It's also not their business how companies approach this.

OMM 0000

is_that_so wrote: »

Well, it's not all the science, it's a snapshot of some of the more alarming bits of it. That you have formed your own judgement of others based on your own personal view of the risk of the virus. I'd say mask up and distance or stay out of offices if you can.

It is science.

Two metres or one: what is the evidence for physical distancing in covid-19?

"Breathing out, singing, coughing, and sneezing generate warm, moist, high momentum gas clouds of exhaled air containing respiratory droplets. This moves the droplets faster than typical background air ventilation flows, keeps them concentrated, and can extend their range up to 7-8 m within a few seconds."

"Laboratory studies also suggest SARS-CoV-1, SARS-CoV-2, and MERS-CoV viral particles are stable in airborne samples, with SARS-CoV-2 persistent for longest (up to 16 hours)."

listermint

NIMAN wrote: »

That's the way we were up until the latest wave at the turn of the year, then the company made it compulsory at your desk too.

A pain, but can see where they were coming from.

Tbf it's spreading from air conditioning so unless your not breathing at your desk ...

Companies should probably be knocking AC off and opening all windows. For constant fresh flow, AC just spreads air from different rooms around the building even to those senior managers with their own offices who bizarrely don't know there are pipes above their heads

OMM 0000

JustAThought wrote: »

OP - very surprised to hear that Japan of all places isn’t compliant or wearing masks!

Here (Ireland!) it’s masks everywhere and people taking it seriously - that said most people are working from home ( mandatory where possible) and all non essential businesses are shut. Legally obliged to wear them on public transport snd in the few shops and retail units that are open so people are - and are being either doorstopped by a staff member on the way in and made wear one and wash their hands or heckled to not go in


Also you’re supposed to wear one in places in public where you cannot help avoid being close to
other people - eg congeated paths, bus stops on marrow paths etc and to my hige surprise people are! Also when q’ing outside on the street for take-aways/coffees etc
So - its taken seriously here!

whats the story with the olympics OP - much buzz there or are they going ahead?

People here are too polite to say anything. So you could be on the packed subway without a mask coughing like crazy and not a peep from anyone.

As far as I can tell no one gives a **** about the olympics

Wildly Boaring

ThewhiteJesus wrote: »

no mask at desk but anywhere else yes, and there is very few of us in the office so yes i'd say it's safe

Same with us.
No mask at desk.
Desks partioned and staggered seating. So nobody opposite, behind or beside you.
Masks at all times once you stand up. Or even if you turn to talk

is_that_so

OMM 0000 wrote: »

It is science.

Two metres or one: what is the evidence for physical distancing in covid-19?

"Breathing out, singing, coughing, and sneezing generate warm, moist, high momentum gas clouds of exhaled air containing respiratory droplets. This moves the droplets faster than typical background air ventilation flows, keeps them concentrated, and can extend their range up to 7-8 m within a few seconds."

"Laboratory studies also suggest SARS-CoV-1, SARS-CoV-2, and MERS-CoV viral particles are stable in airborne samples, with SARS-CoV-2 persistent for longest (up to 16 hours)."

Yeah, but that's just a nugget. You haven't actually analysed the size of the place, the ventilation, the time spent there, if anyone even has it and if they are infectious, the possible levels in the air, whether it gets into your body, never mind your own immune system response. I'm not challenging the science but your personal response here is clearly based on a very small part of it. There's nothing wrong with that but don't just assume it should be everyone else's.

OMM 0000

is_that_so wrote: »

Yeah, but that's just a nugget. You haven't actually analysed the size of the place, the ventilation, the time spent there, if anyone even has it and if they are infectious, the possible levels in the air, whether it gets into your body, never mind your own immune system response. I'm not challenging the science but your personal response here is clearly based on a very small part of it. There's nothing wrong with that but don't just assume it should be everyone else's.

I provided science from the British Medical Journal, a highly respected medical journal.

Do you have any science which proves it is incorrect?

Can you be clear with what you're trying to get at - is it people don't need to wear masks at their desk? Or you don't believe that and are just trying to have an argument?

is_that_so

OMM 0000 wrote: »

I provided science from the British Medical Journal, a highly respected medical journal.

Do you have any science which proves it is incorrect?

Can you be clear with what you're trying to get at - is it people don't need to wear masks at their desk? Or you don't believe that and are just trying to have an argument?

No, I think your issue is with people not wearing masks. You've outlined where you're coming from but both companies and employees have their own choices and they may not coincide with yours. This is something none of the rest of us have any control over and we can only be responsible for ourselves.

OMM 0000

is_that_so wrote: »

No, I think your issue is with people not wearing masks. You've outlined where you're coming from but both companies and employees have their own choices and they may not coincide with yours. This is something none of us have any control over.

The problem here is you think the science is my opinion.

Like, it's just your opinion man. ✌🏻

We should all want to protect lives. Wearing a mask to protect other people shouldn't be controversial.

I'll leave you to it.

Jim2007

OMM 0000 wrote: »

Do you have an issue like this in your office? Why is it happening? Does anyone care?

I've been working from home for years and have not visited the offices for over five years...


My daughter goes into the office a few times a week and is required to wear a mask when she is not alone in her shared office space. It's an owner run company and he takes it very seriously. He send one person home who 'forgot' to wear their mask on a regular basis and told him to seek a new job!


This is Switzerland.

Mrs OBumble

OMM 0000 wrote: »

So all it will take is one person to get infected and a large group of people in the office will also get infected. It's just luck it hasn't happened so far.

Except thats not how it works.

There are lots of cases of one house member getting sick, and most others in the house not getting it, even ones in particularly close contact ( sharing beds, spoons etc). And that is with testing and retesting , so it's not about asymptomatic cases either.

I've seen figures (can't find the souce) that originally the household transmission probability was 10% and with the UK variant its 30%.

I'm personally aware of a factory in Ireland with excellent cleanliness and great ventilation (needed because of what they do) with no masks, no distancing, several hundred people working there - and no one has got sick.

So it's not nearly as simple as we might hope.

Personally I prefer people who are unmasked but keep their distance, than ones who believe that the magic shield on their face protects everyone.

Loveinapril

I work in a residential project so we have to wear masks for most of the day, although I take mine off in my office when I am on my own. There can be 2-4 people in one room at a time so we have windows open and are socially distant with masks if possible, but if we are sitting 2+ metres away we sometimes remove the masks. A staff member contracted Covid last year and luckily none of the other staff or residents caught it so we must be doing something right! Only a few more weeks until we get vaccinated, hopefully (very aware that this only protects us and doesn't stop transmission).

OMM 0000

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Except thats not how it works.

There are lots of cases of one house member getting sick, and most others in the house not getting it, even ones in particularly close contact ( sharing beds, spoons etc). And that is with testing and retesting , so it's not about asymptomatic cases either.

I've seen figures (can't find the souce) that originally the household transmission probability was 10% and with the UK variant its 30%.

I'm personally aware of a factory in Ireland with excellent cleanliness and great ventilation (needed because of what they do) with no masks, no distancing, several hundred people working there - and no one has got sick.

So it's not nearly as simple as we might hope.

Personally I prefer people who are unmasked but keep their distance, than ones who believe that the magic shield on their face protects everyone.

If you look at almost all transmission cases, it was due to someone not wearing a mask, typically multiple people not wearing masks.

Pretending we think masks are some sort of magic shield is wrong. It is a risk reducer. Far more effective than people not wearing masks but keeping a distance. In fact, let's spell this out for an office environment.

Option A: Everyone wears masks and the risk becomes very low.

Option B: People don't wear masks, but keep a distance. Based on the science this means you need to be at least 8 metres apart and not enter each others airspace for around 16 hours.

You really prefer option B?

I am the opposite of a lefty authoritarian but I am practical so I know in a closed environment (indoors) the most practical, simple, and effective solution is masks. Outdoors with common sense distancing we know masks are not required.

JustAThought

OMM 0000 wrote: »

People here are too polite to say anything. So you could be on the packed subway without a mask coughing like crazy and not a peep from anyone.

As far as I can tell no one gives a **** about the olympics

Really? I’m surprised such an obedient population isn’t following what the are told. Or have they all been vaccinated already? Or has the government not made it mandatory to wear masks???

I’m all eyes on the olympics here - vested interest - Was looking at a link provided via the officaiL sources in Japan gov and it seemed that it was all sunshine & roses and great expectations for a timely and successful games. IOC & others in crisis talks over it and the qualification criteria and how athletes isolating can meet the qualifying criteria and gain eligibility to compete. Are they going ahead so? Or are they still building stadiums !?!!

Anyone travelling for the games will be really expecting to be kept safe. It’ll cause an absolute furrore and international chaos if its spread further by lack of governance or compliance.

Or is it a bit like the Fukishima disaster where the government and ombudsman bodies just kept raising the radiation threshold tolerances to mat h the pollution levels while saying it was safe and everyone was ok (and evacuating and abandoning towns and whole agricultural zones) ?

0lddog

OP finding Japanese not using masks in office settings is a bit of a puzzle to me.

Favourite YT channel suggests masks are norm :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3kkqd7vhoI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRkCAvlTMrE

Still masked in his most recent YT
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOIOM24AXdM

Also, figures suggest last year there were fewer deaths in Japan than a 'normal' year ( how did they do that )

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/02/23/national/coronavirus-japan-deaths-2020/

OMM 0000

JustAThought wrote: »

I’m surprised such an obedient population isn’t following what the are told.

Although they're more obedient compared to, say, Ireland, it's more a case of pretend you're obedient...

Japan is full of scams, shoddy work, and fraud.

Again, they are definitely more law abiding than Ireland, but a huge amount of it is just politeness and face saving rather than deep, heart felt obedience.

Am I making sense?

Away With The Fairies

The problem here is that official advice is still distancing. The return to work document from the government is still about distancing.

They need to update this and also include masks. My workplace makes me so uncomfortable with people's lack of awareness and what they think is two meters. People have no problem taking off their masks and also ignoring social distancing.

0lddog

OMM 0000 wrote: »

...
Again, they are definitely more law abiding than Ireland, but a huge amount of it is just politeness and face saving rather than deep, heart felt obedience.

Am I making sense?

Would you say the picture painted by this is more or less true ?

JustAThought

OMM 0000 wrote: »

Although they're more obedient compared to, say, Ireland, it's more a case of pretend you're obedient...

Japan is full of scams, shoddy work, and fraud.

Again, they are definitely more law abiding than Ireland, but a huge amount of it is just politeness and face saving rather than deep, heart felt obedience.

Am I making sense?

Y - passive disobedience - say yes yes yes and bow and smile and then ‘forget’ or do it the old way anyway? Lived with someone like that. . Some shockingly stubborn characteristics. Maybe a bit like the Thai culture? Smile and nod and be very pleasant - but behind the scenes it might be a very different story?

Don’t they have a cultire of not letting people go in work even of they are dreadful - they just slowly make them less relevant and hide them away in non projects with no real authority or power - rather than facing the situation and/or firing them?

Away With The Fairies

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Except thats not how it works.

There are lots of cases of one house member getting sick, and most others in the house not getting it, even ones in particularly close contact ( sharing beds, spoons etc). And that is with testing and retesting , so it's not about asymptomatic cases either.

I've seen figures (can't find the souce) that originally the household transmission probability was 10% and with the UK variant its 30%.

I'm personally aware of a factory in Ireland with excellent cleanliness and great ventilation (needed because of what they do) with no masks, no distancing, several hundred people working there - and no one has got sick.

So it's not nearly as simple as we might hope.

Personally I prefer people who are unmasked but keep their distance, than ones who believe that the magic shield on their face protects everyone.

You mention the factory with great ventilation because of what they do. Is it medical device or pharmaceutical? People breathing and talking (spreads covid) right onto the product they are working with. Ventilation isn't going to take away those heavy droplets falling into their surroundings, including on their product. Very bad form if it's a medical device, pharma or food factory.

JustAThought

0lddog wrote: »

Would you say the picture painted by this is more or less true ?

that is such an annoying video. I couldn’t get past 5 minutes. :0

Mrs OBumble

Away With The Fairies wrote: »

You mention the factory with great ventilation because of what they do. Is it medical device or pharmaceutical? People breathing and talking (spreads covid) right onto the product they are working with. Ventilation isn't going to take away those heavy droplets falling into their surroundings, including on their product. Very bad form if it's a medical device, pharma or food factory.

Not being drawn any further re details.

But notice there is no evidence of food borne transmission anywhere. And medical/pharma have strong rules re what hygiene is needed, and have since long before Covid-19. Some workers have to cover far more than just their faces(*), and some don't.

(*) farts contain bacteria!

C3PO

OMM 0000 wrote: »

I had to visit two offices today (not Ireland) and no one in any of the offices were wearing masks. Everyone laughing and talking and coughing and acting like they've never heard of COVID-19.

I've read a lot of studies on covid and there are a couple of things which are clear:

* Masks protect other people from you, rather than protecting you from other people. Basically masks catch droplets which reduces the amount of virus you emit and also reduces how far the virus travels.

* The virus floats in the air (at viable potency) for up to 16 hours.

* The virus spreads up to roughly 7 metres around you.

So all it will take is one person to get infected and a large group of people in the office will also get infected. It's just luck it hasn't happened so far.

I know a lot of people don't read or dig into things, so I don't expect them to understand everything about covid, but surely they're aware it exists and that it spreads from person to person? I don't understand.

Do you have an issue like this in your office? Why is it happening? Does anyone care?

Have you not asked a similar question before?
Masks are not compulsory in our office. We have approximately 100 people in an office designed for 300 so plenty of space for social distancing. They are not mandated by law.

shtpEdthePlum

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

...notice there is no evidence of food borne transmission anywhere.

"
Even if the virus remains infective on contaminated foods, maintenance of infectivity after ingestion of food and subsequent invasion of tissue has not been reported. An alternate route of infection from contaminated foods can be during handling of foods and subsequent spread of the virus to other surfaces such as face, nose, leading to infection. However, due to the extensive treatments foods receive during processing, often inhospitable environs of the food products and further food preparation prior to consumption significantly reduce the risk of transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus."

It's possible to spread it from contaminated food or packaging if you touch your face after handling. It really sounds like you're indicating that a food processing plant is not mandating mask use. If this is the case, I would strongly urge that you report it to the FSA so that their food doesn't potentially end up causing 1 in 100 people to die.

Mrs OBumble

shtpEdthePlum wrote: »

"
Even if the virus remains infective on contaminated foods, maintenance of infectivity after ingestion of food and subsequent invasion of tissue has not been reported. An alternate route of infection from contaminated foods can be during handling of foods and subsequent spread of the virus to other surfaces such as face, nose, leading to infection. However, due to the extensive treatments foods receive during processing, often inhospitable environs of the food products and further food preparation prior to consumption significantly reduce the risk of transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus."

It's possible to spread it from contaminated food or packaging if you touch your face after handling. It really sounds like you're indicating that a food processing plant is not mandating mask use. If this is the case, I would strongly urge that you report it to the FSA so that their food doesn't potentially end up causing 1 in 100 people to die.

I'm not. Remember that there's a long way between a clean room and a place where clean-room manufactured goods are ultimately used.

Do you reckon the parcel handlers in An Post and all the other delivery companies are wearing masks all the time they are near your parcels? If food and packaging was such a risk, we should all have gotten sick last April.

OMM 0000

C3PO wrote: »

We have approximately 100 people in an office designed for 300 so plenty of space for social distancing.

You are roughly 16 metres apart and don't enter each other's airspace for roughly 16 hours?

I don't understand how over 1 year into this pandemic people still don't understand how this virus is spread.

Del2005

OMM 0000 wrote: »

If you look at almost all transmission cases, it was due to someone not wearing a mask, typically multiple people not wearing masks.

Pretending we think masks are some sort of magic shield is wrong. It is a risk reducer. Far more effective than people not wearing masks but keeping a distance. In fact, let's spell this out for an office environment.

Option A: Everyone wears masks and the risk becomes very low.

Option B: People don't wear masks, but keep a distance. Based on the science this means you need to be at least 8 metres apart and not enter each others airspace for around 16 hours.

You really prefer option B?

I am the opposite of a lefty authoritarian but I am practical so I know in a closed environment (indoors) the most practical, simple, and effective solution is masks. Outdoors with common sense distancing we know masks are not required.

The problem with option A is 99% of people are wearing the masks incorrectly so they aren't providing protection to others, the virus isn't as easily spread as people think.

C3PO

OMM 0000 wrote: »

You are roughly 16 metres apart and don't enter each other's airspace for roughly 16 hours?

I don't understand how over 1 year into this pandemic people still don't understand how this virus is spread.

We are nothing like 16mts apart but are not required to be!

People understand exactly how the virus is spread but many (myself included) are happy to take reasonable precautions, reduce risk to an acceptable level, and get on with it!
To date, one year later, we have zero confirmed cases in the office despite having had circa 100 people in since the start!

OMM 0000

C3PO wrote: »

We are nothing like 16mts apart but are not required to be!

People understand exactly how the virus is spread but many (myself included) are happy to take reasonable precautions, reduce risk to an acceptable level, and get on with it!
To date, one year later, we have zero confirmed cases in the office despite having had circa 100 people in since the start!

Luck.

I completely understand your mentality (risk reduction rather than risk elimination, and it's not unreasonable) but personally I could not be a part of that as I do not want to risk infecting someone and they bring the virus home to an old or sick person. I'd rather just wear a mask and deal with the discomfort.

But I do understand many people are doing a tradeoff between comfort/risk and in most cases it works out.

C3PO

I just don’t think that expecting people to sit all day in a mask is a reasonable request unless they are in close contact with others. Unless it is mandated we will not be implementing it in our office.

shtpEdthePlum

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

I'm not. Remember that there's a long way between a clean room and a place where clean-room manufactured goods are ultimately used.

Do you reckon the parcel handlers in An Post and all the other delivery companies are wearing masks all the time they are near your parcels? If food and packaging was such a risk, we should all have gotten sick last April.

There is a small but not insignificant risk that if somebody with covid who has viral particles on their hands handles your stuff, and you touch your nose, eyes, mouth after opening it, you may become infected. We wash our hands after opening our post and leave the contents sit for 24h or wipe surfaces if possible.

Many, many people who have had covid do not know where they acquired the infection.

It can remain viable on certain surfaces ranging from hours to days. On plastic and stainless steel it can last up to a week.

OMM 0000

C3PO wrote: »

I just don’t think that expecting people to sit all day in a mask is a reasonable request unless they are in close contact with others. Unless it is mandated we will not be implementing it in our office.

Do you understand though that close contact is around 8 metres? I'm fine with your logic as long as you follow the science, but you're choosing to ignore the science so you can be more comfortable. I personally don't think that's acceptable as you could kill someone. The risk is low, but it is a real risk.

I couldn't live with the idea that I'm putting my comfort ahead of other people's safety.

Anyway, I know you're not going to change your mind, so I'm not going to go round in circles on this with you. I hope your office continues to get away with things and all goes well.

GazzaL

C3PO wrote: »

We are nothing like 16mts apart but are not required to be!

People understand exactly how the virus is spread but many (myself included) are happy to take reasonable precautions, reduce risk to an acceptable level, and get on with it!
To date, one year later, we have zero confirmed cases in the office despite having had circa 100 people in since the start!

From what I've seen, most people don't wear masks in their workplace unless they are dealing with someone from outside their workplace.

It's not realistic to expect people to wear masks all day. Even in hospital settings, I've seen doctors and nurses take off their masks at times due to discomfort.

Mrs OBumble

OMM 0000 wrote: »

I personally don't think that's acceptable as you could kill someone. The risk is low, but it is a real risk.

I couldn't live with the idea that I'm putting my comfort ahead of other people's safety.

Every time you drive a car, there's a risk you could kill someone. There's a always a risk you could kill them by giving them any one of a range of communicable diseases, eg influenza, whooping cough, Covid-19. If you eat nuts, there's risk that one of them, or even the packaging they were in, could kill someone with a peanut allergy. If you make a woman pregnant, there's a small but not insignificant risk that it might kill here.

It's all about probabilities, and likelihood of occurrence X consequences.

Even if you're wearing masks, the risk is lowered but not removed. Especially if you're in a place with someone over time, there a risks that you'll touch your mask inappropriately, and then touch something else - passing on either Covid-19 or some other bug from your mask.