(Don't) Wear a Mask Debate

[hhinner]

I'm becoming old, decrepit and senile (according to my wife) so I often forget to put my mask on when I get out of the car (which I'm still well fit enough to drive). Usually nobody says anything other than in 7-Eleven (they let you know as soon as you walk in). Wandered around big C the other day and nobody said a word. Not even at the cashier or Mr Donut where I bought a coffee. I only noticed when I sat down to drink my coffee and went to remove the mask - which wasn't there.

[Suua]

The fear factor here is off the charts.
I've just got back from Europe and the UK where life is back to normal (essentially) and no one (0.0001%) wears them anymore, indoors or out.
For those that do wear them, have they considered that unless they change them 2-4 times daily, they are potentially doing harm to themselves by inhaling bacteria/germs that are deposited every time you exhale, making a nice moist area for bacteria/germs to collect.
When I see people wearing them outside and on motorbikes it makes me laugh out loud.

[Big Boy]

Is it fear of Covid, or fear of the Government's severe punishment for non-compliance?

Personally, wearing a mask doesn't bother me, but I wear a mask that is comfortable. As a foreigner in Thailand, I don't want to present the BIB with the opportunity to enhance their tea fund at my expense.

I don't think there is a Covid fear factor any more. The Government is using Covid to retain absolute power/show the population they are in charge.

[HHTel]

[buksida]

Indeed. That has been the case since day 1 here, and they're extremely reluctant to relinquish that power/control hence the prolonged lockdown/restrictions when the rest of the world has got over it, we do live in a dictatorship after all.

[STEVE G]

I basically wore a mask at work for two years, over 8 hours a day and yes, I've really had enough of that.
I have to admit that it greatly annoyed me to have to start wearing one again in Thailand on my last visit and I was hoping it would be over by the start of June.

[PeteC]

Like I said in another thread civil disobedience is already here, at least outdoors. In a mall or other close quarters venue yes, I would wear one happily while in there. Outside makes no sense. When you get here Steve look around and see what the locals are now doing. I think you'll find it's less and less, outdoors.

[STEVE G]

Yes, when I was over in April I didn't wear one for walking on the beach except for around the entrance area near the Hilton when it was busy at the weekends.

[Big Boy]

If you are exercising whilst walking on the beach, I don't think the law requires it. Whilst walking around Khao Tao Lake each day, I remove my mask once away from people, which is about 80% of the circumference.

[Spitfire]

Well, sooner or later, masks will have to be ditched and become optional as it can't go on forever. I miss seeing peoples' faces, especially women's smiles... sucks like it is now.
Yeah, there is still a very panicky section of society about it all but the locals get all sorts of brainwashing on stuff going on.
Masks are really for those who are sick so they can't spread it so easily... like why surgeons wear them during an operation. Truth is, we all have to take our chances, like with everything else, as long as the variant is mild and not killing people. We can't try to wrap everyone up in cotton wool... ludicrous. To put things in perspective, before Covid, 30k odd people were dying of the normal flu every year just in the UK... and those that needed a jab got one if a vulnerable section of society.
Going to have to let it go soon... OK, if they want to hang on to later in 22, then alright, but can't go on and on.

[HHTel]

Mask wearing in this part of the world was quite common long before Covid and I'm sure it will continue. BKK is one of the highest polluted cities in the world. Wearing masks was nothing new so complaints from the general public were few.

You only have to look at the air pollution index published daily. Even HH rises above the 2.5 regularly. We complain about wearing masks because it's never been part of our culture. Maybe we need a little education on living here.

Filtering face masks on the faces of Bangkokians going about their day has become a norm, at least for this time of year, which has become so infamous that it now has a name: Burning Season. While being surrounded by the gloomy atmosphere of appalling air quality dampers one’s mood, what it is doing to our health is far worse.

According to a report by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) Health Department, nearly 40,000 people in the two main districts of Bangkok have gone to hospitals to receive treatment for respiratory diseases since September 2019.

That's from a report in January 2020 so that 40,000 was just for 4 months in BKK alone.

[caller]

Two days ago, the Governor of Bkk signed an order relaxing the requirement to wear a mask in every circumstance. Today, he rescinded that order. I wonder who had a word in his ear?

The new Bkk Governor has promised to relax the rules. He's a bigger fish and with a massive mandate. I wonder if someone will try and have a word in his ear?

[2/cb]

I’ve spent this weekend in Paignton, Devon, to see the air show and visit friends. There have been literally thousands of people of all ages here, on the beaches, the promenade, in the pubs, restaurants, etc etc. I have seen two wearing face masks (a mother and daughter sitting on the beach). Mask wearing is dead, at least here in the UK, because it’s futile.

[lindosfan1]

Well I am in Kent still people wearing masks especially in crowded shops. Why would you wear a mask on the beach?

[2/cb]

Well I am in Kent still people wearing masks especially in crowded shops. Why would you wear a mask on the beach?

Why would you wear a mask anywhere? Isn’t life just too short to go through it with a nappy on your face?