A little thread about masks: please stop saying that people are "stupid" or "thick" for refusing to wear masks. They may be wrong but it is not their own fault (really we should wear masks!) The British public has been lied to over and over again: first we were told masks were no

good, because the government was worried everyone would hoard masks that needed to go to people working on the frontline. Instead of saying "please don't buy masks now because other people need them" they said "masks don't work." Then they said that masks do work but said

they only work for protecting others and not yourself. At the same time they played down the effectiveness of mask, while playing up fears about transmission through people touching their masks and faces more. They also said "we're not going to tell people to wear masks because

we're worried people who wear them will stop taking other precautions." So instead of telling people that as well as taking other precautions, people needed to wear masks, they just didn't tell people to wear masks. Finally they admitted everyone wearing masks was a good idea.

But it's no surprise that people are resistant to it now, having been given sophistic reasons not to wear masks for months and months.

This is particularly a problem in a society where the government has said "everything is based on science" but has consistently refused to

discuss this science in public. There has been no public discussion about how masks and face coverings work, what the scientific explanations are for how the virus spreads and how it can be prevented, and how masks can be used safely to prevent this spread. Instead the appeal to

"science" has broadly been used to justify measures imposed on the public "for their own safety" instead of getting the public involved in collectively thinking how we can make the country safer for everyone. Even the final introduction of masks in shops is being done in quite

an authoritarian way, which seems designed to encourage people to resist it.

Under these circumstances, please be a little tolerant of people who take longer to adjust. Do discuss the science with people if you can. Please stop calling others idiots, as it helps nobody. And here

are a few tips for safe mask wearing: 1) make sure you combine your mask wearing with hand-washing. There really can be spread, and you can get sick, if you contaminate your mask. So wash on sanitise your hands every time before you touch it, put it on, or take it off. Imagine

like every time you touch your mask is like putting your finger in your mouth. 2) Keep your mask in a sealed, clean (and sterile if possible) place when you aren't wearing it. 3) Don't use masks with valves as instead of containing droplets and aerosols in your breath, they

work a bit like a chimney, making plumes of aerosols and droplets and spread them further. 4) If you can, use a three layer mask with a filter. 5) Make sure you wash your mask with soap at a high enough temperature. 6) Touch your mask as little as possible.

7) please be sensitive to people who can't wear masks because of medical conditions, and those who rely on lip reading who may need you to remove your mask to communicate with you. Really it is better not to judge. Most people are trying their best to get it right.

I will only add that some of the scientific authorities on our country have been a real problem here: SAGE has returned to the question of masks again and again. So much ink has been spilled on it by senior government scientists and subcommittees. If only they had spent that time

deciding to adopt a strategy of suppression and elimination of the virus (as opposed to mere management) we would be in a much better position. It is sad their priorities have been so off kilter. Masks and face coverings should have simply been advised months ago as they are

a decent prophylactic, and fears about them causing spread had very little foundation in scientific literature. In general there always seemed to be few negative externalities compared to the good they could do.