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19th July Lockdown Easing - Observations and Compliance

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LowLevel

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A very high level of mask-wearing still on Norwich-Cambridge and Norwich-Sheringham, and indeed in Norwich itself. Oh well.

Not terribly impressed with GAs messaging either - all 5 trains I’ve been on today still have old notices up that ‘you must wear a face covering’ and the PIS on all 5 has continued to display a message that you can be fined £200 if you don’t.

Announcements from the guards have been mixed too - some seem to have got the idea of putting in an ‘if crowded’ caveat, but at least one didn’t mention that and it sounded very much like he was saying it was still required at all times (on a fairly empty train), and another implied that it was required on that specific service because the train was (fairly) busy.

Your problem of course is that no one apart from those who don't like masks is fussed. Most other people would I suggest say "who cares".
 
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johnnychips

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There is a lot of mixed messaging, which must be confusing people. In Sheffield, all First buses are driving round with something like ‘Facemasks must be worn on the bus’ or similar, and Sheffield and Doncaster Interchanges have still signs up saying that masks must be worn in the interchange and on the bus.

Northern and EMR are saying that you really should wear facemasks, but EMR does mention exemptions.

From my observations, it is mainly older people wearing masks: I got on the Transpeak today, and I was the only one not wearing one in quite a full bus; yet last night I was on the 11 Chapeltown to Sheffield, and only two out of twenty were.

I was on the Swift from Uttoxeter to Ashbourne today, and three teenagers put their masks on, paid the driver, then took them off again as soon as they got on.

I have not had any difficulties with drivers or people staring at me or making remarks, which I wouldn’t expect anyway in Sheffield and Derbyshire.
 

Failed Unit

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My trips on EMR were more relaxed then LNER. It really did feel like pre-Covid, including the loadings (so glad the 153s are gone). Some wore masks, some didn’t and some half worse them. But no-one really cared spreading ourselves around the train.
 

Bald Rick

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On the rails the last two days, have been quite surprised how few people have stopped wearing masks. Same in the shops / cafes. Practically no different to last week or the week before.
 

Class 33

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Apologies if I have missed this, but what exactly is the Covid Restrictions Support Conversation as I cannot find it anywhere?

It is a private section of the forum for people like myself who found the ongoing restrictions difficult to deal with. I was invited by a moderator to join it. Not sure if they're accepting new members to join it now.
 

ABB125

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Not terribly impressed with GAs messaging either - all 5 trains I’ve been on today still have old notices up that ‘you must wear a face covering’ and the PIS on all 5 has continued to display a message that you can be fined £200 if you don’t
That's what I noticed when I was on Greater Anglia earlier this week. Though personally I don't mind the messaging still being there, as those who don't want to wear a mask will know what the rules are, regardless of what the messages say. I experienced no issues whatsoever by not wearing a mask.
 

MikeWM

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Your problem of course is that no one apart from those who don't like masks is fussed. Most other people would I suggest say "who cares".

I have to say that seems a rather odd attitude.

I don't think 'who cares' is a remotely good enough explanation when I'm being explicitly told I must do something, and I can be fined if not, when that is not true.
 

Tomp94

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Am traveling Brighton to Edinburgh 2nd August.....
Looking forward to the announcement from LNER whilst going at 100+mph in the middle of nowhere, "please put on your muzzle" as we cross the England/Scotland border into Scotland.
I shan't be wearing a muzzle on any part of the journey.

It feels weird going into a shop without one! At my local Morrisons earlier, only around half the people were wearing muzzles, at the beginning of the week on so called "freedom day" almost everyone except me was wearing one.

Still many elderly are going around wearing them, including outside, and alone in their cars.

It's a sad sight to see the endless government and media fear campaign literally scaring millions of people into not living their lives normally for a virus with over a 99% recovery rate.
 

philosopher

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From my observations over the past days in inner and central parts of London, mask wearing seems pretty much unchanged from before, however I did notice more shop staff not wearing them or wearing them on the chin. About half of social distancing signage from shops has gone. Pubs from what I have seen when walking past them have almost all gone back to bar service. The pubs seems busier too, however some of that could be down to the good weather this week.

I used the tube at 18:45 on Monday from Southwark to Green Park and it was still very quiet for that time of day, about a third of the seats were still available. I visited the office on Tuesday and the area around my office still seems quiet by normal standards, though busier than it was a couple of weeks ago. The Pret by the office had a long queue in the morning that did not seem any different from normal, however there were only two staff on duty whereas normally there would be four or five. My guess is that quite a few of their staff had been pinged.
 

LowLevel

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I have to say that seems a rather odd attitude.

I don't think 'who cares' is a remotely good enough explanation when I'm being explicitly told I must do something, and I can be fined if not, when that is not true.

I could perhaps have put it better.

A lot of the postings here expressing dismay about publicity, announcements or even just people continuing to wear masks at all seem to assume that there is a pent up well of people who are complying only out of fear of getting in trouble and I'm honestly not sure that's the case. I would hope (though I suppose the British public never cease to amaze me) that people are aware enough of what has been said over the last few weeks to make their own choice.

Prime example. Earlier I travelled on a pair of trains with in one case all seats taken and standees for a short journey, very much pre COVID levels of busy, and in the other a long journey of over 4 hours with pretty much all seats taken albeit no standees. In both cases most people were wearing masks, and in only one case did the law require it (the first train, into Edinburgh). The fact that mask wearing was optional was very clear from the on board announcements. Despite this most people chose to continue to wear a mask apart from the odd break to eat or drink, myself included. I think there were 2 passengers sat together who chose not to in the whole coach and that was fine. No one gave them any grief and the staff treated them no differently.

However I later visited a beer festival in a well ventilated space with lots of people I know anyway. No one at all wore a mask at any point.

That for me is the definition of freedom to make a reasoned, respected decision and neither scenario is anything to be concerned about, if you approach it from a natural standpoint to begin with. Busy train, most people wore masks. No problem. Well spread and ventilated beer festival - nobody did, also no problem.

Yet reading a fair number of the replies to this thread the passengers on busy trains choosing en masse to wear masks is something to disapprove of.
 

Bikeman78

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Went for my first trip to the local pub last night since 'freedom day'. The pub followed every rule to the letter during restrictions, but now there is nothing at all! Nobody was wearing a mask either. You could say it felt very normal.
I went to the Spoons outside Temple Meads on Tuesday. It was quiet inside. Didn't see any customers or staff wearing a mask. Tried to order the first round using the app but it said that Magners and Thatchers were sold out. I went to the bar and found both were available. Se we bought the rounds the old fashioned way!
 

johnnychips

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Yet reading a fair number of the replies to this thread the passengers on busy trains choosing en masse to wear masks is something to disapprove of.
I don’t think it’s any personal opprobrium against people who choose to wear masks per se, it is a feeling amongst several posters, including me, that there is no scientific argument that they make any difference. I would be horrified if anybody criticised anybody for wearing a mask.
 

WestRiding

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First trip today since 19th July. Train travel has become enjoyable once again, a pleasure even. Nice to see the trains busier too.

0700 Sheffield to St Pancras was around 60% not wearing a mask.

0930 St Pancras to Gatwick around 10% not wearing a mask.

1021 Gatwick to Littlehampton, currently around 30% not wearing a mask.

Definitely seems that masks are more popular the further South you go.

Still, I am enjoying the ride so far. Long may it continue now. It's definitely encouraged people back to the Railway. Thameslink however really do need to remove old posters stating that you MUST wear a mask.
 

XAM2175

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Am traveling Brighton to Edinburgh 2nd August.....
Looking forward to the announcement from LNER whilst going at 100+mph in the middle of nowhere, "please put on your muzzle" as we cross the England/Scotland border into Scotland.
So witty :rolleyes:
 

yorkie

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Evidently most people do not want to wear them or mandate them, but in settings where most other people are seen wearing them, many people do not want to stand out.

My train today is with LNER and due to passive aggressive announcements, as I walked through to find my seat, I saw most people are wearing masks, with those not in the minority (but still a significant minority, so we are making progress), which I find a bit disappointing but I am well aware that these are early days and I look forward to more and more feeling confident in removing them as time goes on.

As the train pulled into Peterborough, it was evident that the vast majority on the platform were not wearing masks, so that is again a positive sign of getting back to normality.

I hope that further progress will be made by my return trip tomorrow, and will report back :)
 

fishquinn

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Am traveling Brighton to Edinburgh 2nd August.....
Looking forward to the announcement from LNER whilst going at 100+mph in the middle of nowhere, "please put on your muzzle" as we cross the England/Scotland border into Scotland.
I shan't be wearing a muzzle on any part of the journey.

It feels weird going into a shop without one! At my local Morrisons earlier, only around half the people were wearing muzzles, at the beginning of the week on so called "freedom day" almost everyone except me was wearing one.

Still many elderly are going around wearing them, including outside, and alone in their cars.

It's a sad sight to see the endless government and media fear campaign literally scaring millions of people into not living their lives normally for a virus with over a 99% recovery rate.
You entirely lost me at the talk of 'muzzles' - seems hugely childish and if anything damages your case rather than improves it. Like them or hate them is fully up to you but is there really any reason to not call them masks
 

35B

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Evidently most people do not want to wear them or mandate them, but in settings where most other people are seen wearing them, many people do not want to stand out.

My train today is with LNER and due to passive aggressive announcements, as I walked through to find my seat, I saw most people are wearing masks, with those not in the minority (but still a significant minority, so we are making progress), which I find a bit disappointing but I am well aware that these are early days and I look forward to more and more feeling confident in removing them as time goes on.

As the train pulled into Peterborough, it was evident that the vast majority on the platform were not wearing masks, so that is again a positive sign of getting back to normality.

I hope that further progress will be made by my return trip tomorrow, and will report back :)
That strongly suggests observer bias. I agree that when I travelled with LNER on Wednesday, their requests for mask wearing (and very strong staff role modelling) will have influenced wearing, but talking to colleagues, feelings about mask wearing were less clearcut than you suggest.
 

LAX54

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Just been talking to a family member in France, seems that from August, if you have not been vaccinated, and / or have refused a jab, you will NOT be able to go to school, nor will you be able to go to work....and if you do not go to work, the state will not pay you either !
(I assume you will be able to go to the shops for food tho)
 

NorthOxonian

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Often the differences between neighbouring areas can be fascinating. For example, in Newcastle and Gateshead, the large majority of bus users wear a mask, but I'm visiting Sunderland this afternoon, and here it appears that around 30% are wearing them (certainly well under half). I have no idea why there's such a stark difference!
 

pdq

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That strongly suggests observer bias. I agree that when I travelled with LNER on Wednesday, their requests for mask wearing (and very strong staff role modelling) will have influenced wearing, but talking to colleagues, feelings about mask wearing were less clearcut than you suggest.
I agree. Within my family and circle of friends and colleagues (those I meet and and across Facebook), virtually all have publicly stated that they will continue to wear a face covering where they feel it sensible (ie indoors when it is busy). Neither they nor I would be influenced one way or the other by those around us when it comes to making that decision.

As Facebook tends to be an echo chamber of one's own views, I value reading the different views to mine that come up on this forum, as on the whole it allows a broad spectrum of opinion without the polarisation that Facebook gives.

I think pragmatism is necessary with all this and hopefully all will become clearer as we move into the autumn.

As an aside - I really hope the provision of hand sanitiser continues at supermarkets where the trolleys are collected. I think any surfaces that are touched by multiple people should have the facility to be cleaned be cleaned whenever possible, not just because of C19 but any disease that can be transmitted by pathogens transferring from the mouth to surfaces via hands.

Take care all and enjoy the summer.
 

Bantamzen

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Just been talking to a family member in France, seems that from August, if you have not been vaccinated, and / or have refused a jab, you will NOT be able to go to school, nor will you be able to go to work....and if you do not go to work, the state will not pay you either !
(I assume you will be able to go to the shops for food tho)
Crikey, get ready for some French strikes then....
 

Failed Unit

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Just been talking to a family member in France, seems that from August, if you have not been vaccinated, and / or have refused a jab, you will NOT be able to go to school, nor will you be able to go to work....and if you do not go to work, the state will not pay you either !
(I assume you will be able to go to the shops for food tho)
If I was of school age, that would be an incentive for me to refuse the jab. I hated school so it would be win win.
 

LAX54

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Crikey, get ready for some French strikes then....
Does sound like they are ramping up the rules ! They are both double jabbed anyway, so does not affect them, but she was rather 'animated' telling us the news.
 

Mintona

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I had a breakfast buffet this morning. I didn’t think I’d ever see one again! It was glorious. All the food laid out ready to take and nobody wearing masks anywhere, except for a couple of the staff.

Paultons Park today, I have seen one family wearing masks. Most of the staff have them on so I’m guessing they’ve been instructed to but practically none of the guests.
 

Class 33

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Was on a bus just now from Nailsea to Bristol. Probably about 50 people on. The people without masks far outweighed the people with masks. Around 80% without masks. This was EXCELLENT to see. On average though I'd say the mask wearing on buses in Bristol now is about 55% of passengers. But things are heading fairly steadily now in the RIGHT direction.
 

NorthOxonian

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Was on a bus just now from Nailsea to Bristol. Probably about 50 people on. The people without masks far outweighed the people with masks. Around 80% without masks. This was EXCELLENT to see. On average though I'd say the mask wearing on buses in Bristol now is about 55% of passengers. But things are heading fairly steadily now in the RIGHT direction.
That's quite a decent number of passengers too - did it seem like a lot of them were going out in Bristol?
 
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