Mask wearers need haven as the tables turn

Iwas trying to buy charcoal and ice at a Portuguese deli in south London when I saw them. Two large, shaven-headed men were staring at me, nudging each other and smirking. felt disconcerted. What had I done? Hours later my friend reported from Victoria Station, where two loud, drunk women were pointing at seemingly random people and openly laughing.

What was going on?

It’s become clear in recent weeks that the tables have turned in the Covid pandemic.

Gone are the days when people would judge others for not wearing a face mask or straying into their extended personal space.

I vividly remember being told off in Aldi by an irate husband for walking too close to his wife’s trolley.

On the same visit a customer was publicly shamed for attempting to stockpile frankfurter sausages.

It feels like a distant memory. Now, in some places, wearing a mask is in itself worthy of ridicule.

In the early part of the pandemic I admit I sniggered at an elderly man as he tried to articulate a point to a laptop repair man in John Lewis while wearing a gas mask.

But now even a basic covering is worthy of derision.

I can count on one hand the number of

Sainsbury’s shoppers who complied with the chain’s polite request to cover up on a visit earlier this week.

But Waterstones just down the road was a haven for the mask wearers.

On a recent trip to Cornwall I was shocked by the difference in attitude. Most shops insisted on face coverings, while some pubs were still operating table service only.

I certainly don’t want a return to the days of judgment but I can also not understand why the government ever relaxed the rules on masks, effectively instilling a false sense of security on a whole nation.

Now vague threats of an autumn lockdown hang over us as rates rise. Once again the public will be blamed.

‘Early in the pandemic I admit I sniggered at an elderly man as he tried to articulate a point to a laptop repair man while wearing a gas mask’