Thanks both. These guys have the same loose concept of time of a former girlfriend of mine.

A lot of people in the UK already seem to view the mask mandate as optional, if recent experiences on trains and other public transport are any indication. As someone who is deeply uncomfortable around unmasked people in indoor settings (when cases are as high as they are right now!), the vibe is less 'freedom day' and more 'anxiety through the roof day'. I don't understand this obsession with prematurely lifting all restrictions, when waiting a couple more weeks for the majority to be fully vaccinated is really no big deal in the grand scheme of things.

I would understand this if our cases were at an all-time low, but they are at record highs so the mask is such an easy way to make other people around you feel safe and comfortable, and lifting the legal mandate just encourages people to act even more selfishly in tight indoor spaces. Thank God I live in Scotland where there are no plans to scrap them before it really makes sense.

I have been avoiding the debate today, but I 100% agree with the above. The trouble is it runs contrary to everything we have been told to do for energy efficiency over the last 20 years. We have out homes, offices and other public places hermetically sealed. There are going to have to be some intelligent solutions that allow us to achieve both objectives.

Doubt compliance will be too high after July 19 anyway

When's that then?

Ah, just open a window, and if you're cold, as the saying goes, "put on a jumper."

Seriously though, this needs looking at. I think some areas do air flow pretty well - airplanes as an example. But restaurants, pubs and other indoors spaces need work to circulate air better.

When cases aren't through the roof and the age group with the most mobility isn't still largely unvaccinated/only one dose into a two-dose regimen with a new and more transmissible variant.

Well, the best of luck with Scotland then:

Scotland has six in ten European Covid hotspots, according to World Health Organisation

Not that high now.

yeah a friend joined me at the pub the day after they flew in the other day! Clearly they didn’t care

I was tasked by the Mrs to return some stuff at TK Maxx (or whatever the spelling is) so I ventured to a part of Hammersmith I don’t normally visit (beyond the odd escapade to the Turkish shop next to Wetherspoons): King Street. If the % of people masked up in that branch of TK was 50% it’d been a miracle. On the way back, since it’d started bucketing down, I took the District Line; again, probably less then half the passengers were donning a mask. Funnily enough, the only young guys who did were the ones who jumped over the barrier at Acton Town tube station…

Frankly it seems that people have decided they’re done with this. I hope they’re at least getting jabbed, though I doubt it.

I told you the people decided it’s over. But you’ll see over the next 2 weeks ‘compliance’ fall even though the ‘rules’ stay for another 2 weeks

Today’s YouGov poll says 71% of “the people” support retaining mandatory facemasks on public transport.

Care to share your sampling methodology?

Based on my experience here in London, half of those respondents are liars.

I can imagine those %s would be very different in Cornwall compared to London