Correlation is not causation. Just because mask wearing is common in the Far East & they have a lower incidence of COVID-19 died not mean that wearing masks is the reason.
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The 1 metre spacing is the minimum…
and the French govt has said… through out…that it relies on the common sense which it is sure the French people have… 
my word… what droplets are they meaning… 
perhaps the ones which might be contained within a mask… ??? 
Unless you are wearing an FFP3 mask that you have been properly fit tested for there is always a risk of something escaping from a mask
absolutely…but “something” has to be less than (ie better than…) “everything” blowing freely… 
I’ve already said that masks have their place,but people should not be complacent
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totally agree, Eddie…
I don’t think any of us are being complacent… well not us forumites …anyway… 
You need to add in eye protection though.
Nigel raises some worthwhile points - masks need to be used properly but it is important to recognise that expert opinion is just that - opinion.
There is, however, evidence that mask wearing - even home made masks - can cut aerosol generation and reduce infection (but the mask has to fit reasonably well).
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I ventured out into the danger zone yesterday and came back very stressed and quite angry. Social distancing in shops seems to have go by the wayside, in Leclerc probably only 50% of shoppers wearing masks, no attempts to keep any distance and at the checkout two lanes side by side open at the same time so we were almost rubbing shoulders with the people next to us whilst loading shopping onto the belt. I don’t know why they did this as there were plenty of closed checkouts that could have been opened to prevent this sort of thing. I do wear a mask and think at the moment they should be compulsory in public spaces.
@Poppyfields
If they are too close you just cough a bit and say " gardez votre distance j’ai un peu de fièvre "
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I’ve just been out to the decheterie, a plant shop and a brico. Everyone I saw at all three locations was wearing a mask. At the brico if you didn’t have a mask they would sell you one for €0.79.
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sounds very well organized…
Our Adjoint has returned from a shopping trip (in the nearest town) for our school… her report was that most folk in the supermarket were not wearing masks, although the cashiers were ALL wearing masks and gloves…
“Did you wear your mask in the shop” … I asked… " oh yes, (she replied) I think it’s the right thing to do…"
so it sounds as if there is confusion…
I’m waiting to see how the results evolve over the next few weeks…
And absence of proof is not proof of absence. If everyone took the view that there is no point in wearing masks because “there is no evidence they work” then we would never have the proof, one way or the other. In this current scenario we are all guinea pigs, everyone is learning, nobody knows for sure what works, what doesn’t. So those choosing to wear masks are actually helping the world to learn whether or not they are beneficial. In time we will know. In time there will be “best practice”. And since we are led to believe that this is a dress rehearsal for something worse coming down the pipeline, then surely the more things we try, the better.
And by the way, The Lancet isn’t always quite the authority it would like to be: Headlines breaking today: “Surgisphere, whose employees appear to include a sci-fi writer and adult content model, provided database behind Lancet and New England Journal of Medicine hydroxychloroquine studies”
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I think it’s probably wise to keep this in mind. I’m not changing my lock down habits anytime soon.
Izzy x
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I borrowed this from the local on line mag. If you’ve been to Richmond ( North Yorkshire) you will know that the rocks at the falls is not spacious, this has been going on every sunny day, the amount of rubbish left is horrendous, unfortunately some have been using nitros oxide and leaving the capsules behind. The Yorkshire Dales has really suffered during the past three weeks.
Delighted to say that the two brico places we visited this afternoon have made wearing masks compulsory plus hand sanitiser by the door. At the second one a woman and her two children came in without masks and the cashier stopped them and asked them to buy masks (disposable ones were available for 50 cents each). The woman left.
Well virtually no one is wearing masks around here (40180) in all the supermarkets etc except a few elderly people. Saw one old guy taking his off in the car park to have a fag before going round Intermarche…!
So the House of Commons is restored because its now safe to pack them in again…
A good decision (not) by the executive to make them go back to the chamber?
From the gaps I have observed around poorly fitted masks, I doubt their efficacy. Air takes the path of least resistance and trying to pass through any filter is a path of high resistance so aerosol droplets will just move around the sides. I have just purchased 50 masks so as to placate France but social distancing is far more effective. The ferry has reduced the number of passenges allowed to travel BUT closed off lounges etc meaning people will be forced closer than they may have liked. I am wondering how the sleeper seats will be arranged.
No idea about ferries etc
I think the general idea is to go for the best we can of the whole-scenario
… try to stop the stuff getting into the air… try to keep far enough away… try not to touch your face… try to keep your hands clean…
as well as asking folk to self-isolate if they think it appropriate… ( who knows)
it’s no easy matter and there are no certainties…
more than likely, we shall all be discussing this well into next year and beyond…
who really knows how far is far enough…