Covid face masks: Why we should keep one handy regardless of what Boris Johnson says – Helen Martin

Long before the Covid pandemic, it was interesting to see tourists from the eastern parts of the world walking round our city wearing masks.

Boris Johnson wears a face mask during a visit to a PPE manufacturing facility (Picture: Scott Heppell/WPA pool/Getty Images)

They had been through their own pandemics, be it Sars, Mers or Ebola, so masks became a permanent requirement for holidays.

Now Boris Johnson PM has decided people should now make their own mind up about whether they do, or don’t, carry on with masks despite the Delta variant.

Jason Leitch says wearing masks are a vital, “selfless act” while the virus continues to spread, but many Scots seem to think their face coverings can all be dumped in the bin as Johnson says legal restrictions, including masks, will end in England.

There are some people who feel the masks are only supposed to protect themselves so they can, as Boris says, make up their own mind. The main function of the mask is to stop someone (who doesn’t necessarily know they have Covid) passing it on to someone else. It’s about protecting other people.

Hopefully, we are over the worst. The Delta variant is more transmissable but hasn’t been resulting in as much intensive care admissions or death. And yes, we should all be positive and try to regain a normal life.

But there are still many people of different ages who have decided not to have vaccines, so we can’t guarantee other fierce variants could crop up, some of which may even overcome our vaccines.

To me, it makes sense we should always have a mask in our pockets or our bags, especially in crowded areas.

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