GT89 wrote: » So the government advice 3 or 4 months ago was that face masks we're not effective but now your a dangerous conspiracy theorist if you believe that
Boggles wrote: » Not yet AFAIK.
odyssey06 wrote: » ........... Our authorities believed too much of the crap China fed the WHO when they were trying to pretend human to human transmission of coronavirus was rare.
odyssey06 wrote: » They shouldn't be but even if they do, better they touch a mask than sneeze and cough into your face.
timmy_mallet wrote: » Right, because that's the alternative.
odyssey06 wrote: » It's not an alternative, it's the scenario they are there for.
Augeo wrote: » And if they have unknown covid improper use of a face mask is largely useless and can lead to more contaminated surfaces then if they had no mask.
Tork wrote: » We're paying the price for them trying to protect those limited PPE supplies at the start of the pandemic. I also wonder is there a bit of racism thrown into the mix. Asians love their masks and until now they looked ridiculous out of place when wearing them out and about in Ireland.
timmy_mallet wrote: » All those people going around coughing and sneezing in yer face, then yes, I would advocate for masks, but given that is not happening (nor has ever happened me in my life), it would be a strange person to stand behind and advocate for public health policies based on extremely rare scenarios and limited evidence.
odyssey06 wrote: » You've never been on a bus or train or shop and heard someone cough or sneeze within a few metres of you? Effectively, they were coughing in your face, cos you are going to be exposed to it. We can't keep buses at 25% of capacity indefinitely. What's your alternative plan?
Arrival wrote: » Czechia: 13,612 cases and 355 deaths Slovakia: 1,965 cases and 28 deaths Ireland: 25,698 cases and 1,749 deaths Czechia has around twice our population and Slovakia has around the same size population as us. Both countries are smaller so they're more densely populated than us. Both countries are also located closer to Italy -- the epicentre of the pandemic in Europe -- and had their first cases around the same time as us, a bit earlier actually if I remember correctly. Both countries implemented masks as a measure in Mid to late March, with their officials wearing masks during all daily briefings and public addresses to help encourage their normalisation and usage. Their lockdowns were not as extreme and nowhere near as long as ours and they got their curve suppressed quicker than we did. Their medical experts massively attribute their objectively great success in handling the pandemic very well compared with the rest of Europe to the high percentage of people respecting and adhering to the mask guideline. Outside of Europe, looking at the Asian countries which have relatively recent experience with similar outbreaks who have handled it excellently, we see similarly great results and, again, their medical experts strongly urged people to wear masks from the beginning. Taiwan: 454 cases and 7 deaths Hong Kong: 1,714 cases and 10 deaths Two regions literally right next to China with populations of 7.4m and 23.7m, got their first cases way before us, and again very densely populated countries. The medical experts in these Asian countries and regions certainly would know better about handling these things than our own, and they've been saying masks should be used since the start. Yet we've people such as yourself many months into this pandemic arguing against them, like morons. An absolute joke! It's such a small inconvenience to wear a barrier over our faces yet it helps so much, so get the **** over it.
Arrival wrote: » No response to this from timmy_mallet, as expected
weldoninhio wrote: » If someone is infected and breathing into a mask, that mask is a biohazard. Where are all the biohazard bins for all these used masks?
SleetAndSnow wrote: » Majority of people in my local Aldi wearing masks today, change from last week even where it was about 30-40%. More like 70-80% today
timmy_mallet wrote: » 1. Differences in reporting measures. Are you certain they are all reporting data in the same way? 2. Hong Kong has closed schools early amid an outbreak. 3. Czech Rep. is experiencing growing cases at the moment. You nor I cannot determine mask efficacy in retail settings preventing further spread or contributing to it. 4. Ireland suppressed with essentially no mask usage while retail outlets remained broadly open. 5. Public health policy and legislation based on poor or in fact no evidence is not something I could stand behind. (Let me know next time how long you'd expect a response from me, thanks)
Beanybabog wrote: » I was in Dundrum today and there’s a definite change in the numbers wearing masks- previously it’s was probably 10-20% now it’s probably around 80%+
timmy_mallet wrote: » 1. Differences in reporting measures. Are you certain they are all reporting data in the same way? 2. Hong Kong has closed schools early amid an outbreak. 3. Czech Rep. is experiencing growing cases at the moment. You nor I cannot determine mask efficacy in retail settings preventing further spread or contributing to it. 4. Ireland suppressed with essentially no mask usage while retail outlets remained broadly open. 4. Public health policy and legislation based on poor or in fact no evidence is not something I could stand behind.
Me. Earlier. wrote: » My worldview such as it is didn't initially see community mask wearing as being of much benefit and was much more about how I could protect myself with P3 level of filtration. I bloody hate wearing one and further if I'm honest don't want us to look like many Asian cultures constantly wearing the damn things. However the more I read and observed of nations that fared far better than us, it became pretty bloody clear that they were another effective risk reducer in community spread of a respiratory virus that western nations for the most part were ignoring for reasons like shortage of PPE(understandable) a need to feel it's all grand and yeah the "I don't want to look like a twat" angle(understandable if idiotic).With the exceptions of Greece that had a much more severe and enforced lockdown than most so communities weren't out and about to spread it(though Greece has subsequently added masks to the mix as they came out of that), Iceland which had the most comprehensive track and trace on earth and New Zealand over in the arse end of the planet who locked down their borders, every single nation that has had the best results against this virus mandated masks from the get go. The worst didn't. Its quite as simple as that.
timmy_mallet wrote: » (Let me know next time how long you'd expect a response from me, thanks)
Wibbs wrote: » We didn't suppress it particularly well at all. Not given our population density and island nation. Sure we did better than somewhere like the UK which was a complete sh1tshow where they decided they'd rely on Best of British know how and failed dismally, burying over 40,000 people because of it. The US is worse(and by god the idiot levels over there over "personal freedoms" are staggering). Now if people feel better comparing themselves to the village idiot and thinking that makes them clever then game ball, but it actually further exposes their stupidity. Believing masks work in one setting but magically don't in another makes it plain to see. We have had ten times the number of deaths when allowing for population than the Czechs. Add a few zeros to that in comparison to Taiwan and Hong Kong. As part of a cohesive strategy to reduce the infection and death rates we have a few tools at our disposal, testing(up and down like a whoers knickers here), contact tracing(minimal and delayed here), lockdown(mostly good with some glaring idiocy and faffing about by authorities), border control(eff all), hand washing(hard to quantify) and social distancing(mostly good) and masks(all over the place).All have a part to play and all should be utilised. Those nations that implemented them all including masks have had the best results. Them's facts. That's evidence. No ifs, buts, or maybes and frankly at this stage to keep on denying it is a sign of mental intransigence at best, or being a witless contrarian, or avoidance of the real reason why people don't want to wear masks, which can usually be summed up with "I don't want to look like a twat". The latter is most of it IMHO.
Sconsey wrote: » I'm still waiting for you to explain how you know that there were zero transmissions in shops, in the whole country, since the outbreak of the pandemic. You have been ignoring my question. I guesss you made it up right?
Gardaí board Dublin-Cork train to respond to passenger refusing to wear a mask
![Photo of [Deleted User]](https://www.boards.ie/applications/dashboard/design/images/banned.png)
