Is it just ME?

Or are people who wear masks while driving alone mad?

TO WEAR or not to wear, that is the question that’s surrounded the notion of face masks since the start of this pandemic.

Do they work? Don’t they work? Do they do more harm that good? Who do they protect? Which ones should you buy? And, of course, how do you find one that matches your outfit?

Last week we finally got some clarity on the subject, after the Government announced masks are to become compulsory on public transport as of June 15. This seems pretty sensible to me. After all, these are crowded places so any degree of protection is better than none.

But one thing I just cannot get my head around: people who wear them on their own in their cars.

Coronavirus is pretty contagious, but you don’t — as far as I know — catch it from yourself

I don’t mean taxi drivers or delivery couriers — obviously it makes sense for them. I mean all those sitting in splendid isolation in their vehicles, windows tightly shut, wearing masks and, sometimes, gloves.

It’s just so peculiar. When I pull up next to them I can’t help wondering: what is going through their minds?

I mean, coronavirus is pretty contagious, but you don’t — as far as I know — catch it from yourself. Or give it to yourself.

In fact, alone in a small metal box on wheels is one of the few places on the planet where one can generally be pretty confident of being safe from its clutches.

Maybe these people simply don’t realise this. Or maybe — and I suppose this is a possibility, after all it takes all sorts — maybe they just

enjoy wearing a mask. Maybe they’re just so comfortable having a small hammock strung between their ears they can’t be bothered to take it off.

Either way, it’s clear that face masks are here to stay, at least for the foreseeable future. But I for one can’t wait to see the last of them — and this horrible virus.