Unmasking a major lockdown threat

AFTER reading about a second wave and the spike in new cases of Covid19, it baffles me that the authorities haven’t given thought to one glaring reason. Enter any shop, and you are expected to sanitise your hands, or, in larger shops, have them sanitised by the person at the door. You will also not be allowed into the shop without wearing a mask. This all makes sense.

Now, we enter the shop and find that almost all the staff and many of the customers wear their masks around their chins. This is no exaggeration. I do all the shopping in my household, and that’s how it is.

I have mentioned this to several managers and pointed out the nearby staff not wearing masks. The response has been that they will “sort it out”, but they never do, nor will they. That is, until managers are fined for allowing anyone to let their mask slip.

As a 71 year old, catching this virus is likely to have dire consequences. Even a recovery doesn’t guarantee a full return to health.

Forget the lockdown, which has been shown to cause as much harm as good. Rather enforce the rule. Nobody wants to be fined.

Ask any surgeon why they and all theatre staff wear full surgical masks during an operation. Even a six-hour operation doesn’t seem to have them falling down through asphyxiation, so the mask isn’t a problem – it's ignorance and apathy.

PHIL GREENLEES | Pinelands