No Masks? NO BRAINER

And so, at long last, after weeks of aimless dithering and a weekend where they appeared to back away from the idea, the Government has made a decision on the wearing of face coverings in enclosed spaces like shops: they will be compulsory for all throughout England, but only from July 24th. The BBC dutifully brought us the news.

“Wearing a face covering in shops and supermarkets in England is to become mandatory from 24 July. Those who fail to comply with the new rules will face a fine of up to £100, the government has announced. Health Secretary Matt Hancock said it would ‘give people more confidence to shop safely and enhance protections for those who work in shops’”.

There was more. “The move will bring England into line with Scotland and other major European nations like Spain, Italy and Germany”. Once more, England has lagged behind others, and that has given impetus to the inevitable contrarian backlash, demonstrating that a lack of medical knowledge can take a pundit a long, long way.

Who would like to kick off? The world’s most inept form-filler Darren Grimes would, sadly: “I know many will tell me of my selfishness for this, but I despise wearing a mask and dread the compulsory wearing of them. They're so dehumanising. You miss a smile, you can miss dialogue and social interaction with staff. They're the most miserable public health initiative yet”. Like anyone smiles when they see Dazza approaching.

Another not generating smiles was mercenary hack Isabel Oakeshott. “Muzzles should be voluntary, not mandatory. Another sinister encroachment of the state! [Michael Gove] was right - keep the law out of it; and let people exercise their common sense”. Muzzles? The kind of things applied to rabid dogs? Slight dramatic excess, much?

Meanwhile, Grimes had someone endorsing his views, but sadly, it was the serially dishonest Suzanne Evans. “It’s not selfish at all. Masks are anti-social [no citation], unhealthy [no citation] and won’t protect you from covid [they will reduce its transmission if everyone wears them]. Your view is completely sensible”. And to that I call bullshit.

This is a straightforward public safety measure. Like the imposition of speed limits on the country’s roads, introduced in order to stem a death toll that was approaching that of a minor war, the compulsion of wearing a safety helmet when riding upon a motorcycle, and wearing a seatbelt in a moving car, the motivation for the move is in the category of stating the bleeding obvious. But, as with all those other measures, there are naysayers.

The economy is being gradually opened up; however, the Coronavirus is still present and does not make exemption for contrarians. NHS staff would rather not deal with too many people who have had to be scraped off the road after not obeying the speed limit, helmet law or seatbelt rules. By the same token they would rather not have to deal with Covid-19 sufferers who are there merely because of their lawbreaking ability.

Nietzsche would NOT wear a mask. And don't call me stupid

With a reopening of the economy, we have new freedoms. With freedom comes responsibility. Wearing a face covering reduces the transmission of Covid-19. Reducing the risk to our fellow citizens is a responsible sort of action. It is an intelligent solution.

The inconsiderate “no masks” movement is not. It is literally a no brainer.

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