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Coronavirus

Wear A F***ing Mask!

This past week I’ve been seeing more and more people without masks on which is concerning since come Tuesday, malls and shops are going to open up. I’ve had three different instances over just these past two days involving masks.

1) I was shopping at a supermarket on Friday and there were people inside shopping without their masks on

2) I visited another supermarket yesterday and the volunteer at door wasn’t wearing a mask wanted to take my temperature, so I told her to put her mask on first and she responded by saying “don’t be afraid”

3) I visited a car dealership where no one at the dealership had a mask on

I’ve also had to tell my neighbors a few times to put on their masks before sharing the elevator with me. I think maybe because the government is easing up on restrictions people think the situation has gotten better? I mean I don’t get it. I’ve tried a variety of different masks on myself and haven’t been bothered by any of them. I don’t find them restrictive or annoying.

If you’re out in public then wear your mask, easy. That includes when you’re in your car and are ordering food from a carhop service or when you’re at a gas station. It’s risky enough that these employees have to interact with so many people throughout the day, at least help by making their environment as safe as possible.

This issue isn’t just in Kuwait obviously. Someone online did a video mashup recently where they took scenes from the comedy, Parks and Recreation, and combined it with footage from townhall meetings in the US on masks. Because some of the arguments are so absurd (5G conspiracies, government hoaxes), they actually blended in with the show seamlessly.

If you also weren’t aware it’s actually compulsory to wear a mask in Kuwait or you risk a KD5,000 fine. But, this obviously isn’t being enforced.

Pictured on top: Ai Weiwei MASK

35 replies on “Wear A F***ing Mask!”

The nexus of the problem is that every single health agency in every country stated over and over and over that masks are not effective, and in fact are more harmful than good because general public doesn’t know how to use them properly and safely. Then all of a sudden in tandem they switch their tune (without acknowledging that they sat there for weeks telling people to not wear mask).

Not exactly. Originally masks were thought to prevent contracting the virus and that’s when health agencies around the world were saying they wouldn’t be effective and people wouldn’t know how to wear them properly.

BUT, then it turns out masks although don’t stop you from contracting the virus, do in fact stop you from spreading the virus.

That’s when health agencies and governments around the world changed their stance.

Masks aren’t meant to protect you, they’re meant to protect others.

They always knew that if you were symptomatic wearing a mask will reduce its spread to others. That argument was presented from the start, and it caused a backlash by the WHO who said that “WHO officials said healthy people who wear masks might touch their own faces more often than necessary, which could increase their risk for COVID-19” This outweighed the benefit. They even said that again a week after the CDC said everyone should wear a mask. Its a shitshow, and they are learning on the job, and many many people have lost trust in those institutions.

https://www.businessinsider.com/who-no-need-for-healthy-people-to-wear-face-masks-2020-4

Having said that, I wear a mask if I’m near people, and I do it to protect myself (which isn’t really the prevailing science at the moment, but that’s what makes me wear it. Self protection.

Re-read what I wrote. The shift from wearing a mask won’t help, to forcing everyone to wear a mask is because they realized although masks wouldn’t help you contracting the virus it will help from spreading it.

You’re focusing on symptomatic people which is what was originally the case but the shift turned to include asymptomatic people. Thats what changed.

I agree wearing a mask in public oka es, but inside your car? That’s like wearing a condemn in bed man lol.

Who said wear it inside your car? I said wear it when you’re interacting with people. If you mean at carhop or gas station? Are you communicating with them with your window closed? Yeah thought so.

Took as being in your car, period. So I read it wrong. Thought so? No need to be rude or a dick. Your content used to be really good. Lately you are defensive and quite brittle.

My original response was just thinking being in a car. The analogy is with a condom, in bed, aline. What’s the point. But that obviously escaped you. I read his car comment wrong.

Seriously? Way to go publically humiliating someone just because they post an alternative view.

You could just not post it……

And I don’t do fake news or conspiracies either.

You’re anonymous so I don’t understand how I humiliated you. Secondly, this specific issue isn’t something that has different views or is up for debate. If it was a pizza review or whatever, obviously I don’t mind people posting different views but not in this case.

Thank you for writing this and using your voice to help educate people. I just can’t wrap my brain around why it’s so difficult for people to follow such a simple instruction, especially when it can saves lives. That parody has alot of videos from Florida and sadly, one of my close friends buried his best friend due to corona recently… it really hit home. I hope people do the right thing or I hope they start enforcing mask wearing here as well.

that’s how science works. you don’t get to the truth, you get as close to understanding as is possible. when you get new information you update your knowledge and understanding, it doesn’t mean people were lying before. pluto was a planet, then it wasn’t, astronomers were never lying to you. dinosaurs were thought to have no feathers, apart from a select few, now it’s understood that most dinosaurs had some kind of feathers or down.

that’s just how science works, including medicine. new disease > new information => new knowledge => new guidelines => new information… and on and on it goes.

THANK YOU! I have been talking until blue in the face about how science is fluid and changes when we know more or better! I don’t understand how people cannot understand that idea!

Perfectly said. Science is self-correcting. There was no lying from the scientific community. Politicians, on the other hand!!

Holy smokes, wear a mask for god’s sake. You might be having a strong immune system to resist yourself against COVID-19. But you could end up transferring the virus onto somebody unknowningly in supermarkets, stores, car dealerships, malls, restaurants etc. Some of those people could even die! It ain’t your choice to decide whether to wear a mask or not, It is an order to WEAR a mask. Protect yourselves and fellow countrymen/residents.

Also, wearing it around your chin doesn’t count as wearing a mask.
Let’s not forget people aren’t respecting social distancing either. But yet again, my fault for having high expectations when people don’t even understand the concept of personal space pre-pandemic days. You’d think that would’ve changed their mindsets…

I’ve seen a man walking outside with his mask ON THE BACK OF HIS NECK! How stupid can these people be?? And some of them don’t even cover their nose with their mask. The MOH should make a tutorial/PSA about mask safety and how to wear/use a mask, because most people are treating masks like if they’re in a dust storm!

this is beyond MOH. they are doing whatever they can (as are most health organizations around the world) and people are deliberately disregarding their guidelines for personal convenience or plain apathy.

Fully agree! Self discipline is needed when there is lack of enforcement on rules and exceptions/wasta seem to be normal

My biggest concern though is companies and their corporate greed that goes against public safety – hiding of corona cases (not banks), disregarding 30% rule and forcing everyone to office full time from month start, toying with salaries and benefits of their employees including heath insurance,full evacuation of employees from locked areas to assure they can work

Until rules are enforced, we are asking for trouble and will be difficult to control spread

Sadly health institutions, where there are are people with low immune systems, aren’t following the rules. I have been to Seef Hospital 6 times on the last 2 weeks due to an injury and have been shocked by what I have seen. Car park attendants handing out tokens with no mask or gloves, reception staff with masks around their chins, the thermoscan person napping on entry, patients with no masks, parents who are wearing masks but letting their kids walk around without (I have kids and you can get them to wear masks so not an excuse) and also staff complaining that they have to constantly change gloves. I called to complain and they didn’t seem to care. Sent me a form on WhatsApp that I would have to print to fill out and then scan to return. If health institutions can’t enforce the rules even with their staff, what hope do we have.

I don’t know what role they have in this, but I asked an MOI policeman in our local COOP to put his mask on like the rest of the customers. He just pushed past me to get his bottle of coffee.

Kuwait WILL experience a whiplash in the coming weeks. It will close down again. And the case load will be worse than before. It’s telling that of yesterday’s cases, a whopping 64% were Kuwaiti. Look to the West and see their mistakes. They make them on a daily basis. Learn from them…don’t repeat them.

Mark, what are you seeing is essentially what reality has always been.

People just don’t care. Those of us who take this seriously are wearing masks and gloves. We also disinfect everything and ensure those that are susceptible don’t come into contact with us.

But, the unfortunate majority of these MORONS just don’t care. Look at the beaches. Look at the times when there no curfew. People just milling around, shoulder to shoulder, ass to ass. They don’t care. What is prevention? Nothing. They simply don’t care.

It also doesn’t help that the government isn’t cracking down or enforcing the laws in regards to prevention and social distancing. So people have just become complacent. Why would they care if there is not punishment? They obviously don’t care about their own health, let alone other peoples’.

It is a sorry state of affairs, and it pisses me off to no end that these people are so blatant in their disregard for others.

My personal opinion? If you are willing to throw other people’s lives under the bus by not taking precautions, it should be tantamount to attempted murder. If they want to put themselves at risk, by all means, let these morons die off by themselves. But to put everyone else at risk should not be acceptable.

People are just complacent maybe, or stupid and imbecile AF (sorry for the words) where they cannot understand and follow Simple Instructions. 🧐🤔

Just a word of warning from Future John…stock up on groceries now. Freeze bread and milk. Get ready for the second wave and the accompanying lockdown.

I believe we’ve progressed in science but regressed in common sense. We’ve come to have a IDGAF attitude and unless it doesn’t come bite us in the backside, it doesn’t bother us. I was at the supermkt too this weekend and saw many people with different ‘styles’ of wearing the mask…it sure did make me laugh! To add to your list Mark, I saw a female extend the length of her scarf to cover her head and mouth! Another citizen probably just got a lip job done and was trying to adjust her mask to make it as wearable as possible…and then finally removed it…checking that her lips were fine..good gosh!
The Govt has done the best they could, and it’s now down to an individual effort which is quite poor as you can see.
I live in a building with a dental clinic downstairs; saw one of their staff get into her waiting transport and just take off her gloves and mask and throw it on the road…mind you, we have 2 dustbins in our building that are just by the elevators. Our caretaker is very clean and makes sure to wipe down the elevators and public access at least twice a day…who has more common sense here…the highly educated or the uneducated!hahaha

Just wondering what the age limits are for mask wearing.. at what age is it compulsory? I have a 2 year old who refuses to wear one….

Not what you were looking for, but my advice to you would be to keep your LO at home as much as possible. I have little ones too and they’ve been at home right from the start. It’s not just the mask, they can touch their surroundings and you know that’s going straight to their mouths. And even in the off chance that they do agree to wear a mask, they can still rub their eyes.

But if you are looking for ways to make your LO wear one, though not as effective, there are quite a few businesses making cloth masks. Something is better than nothing I guess. I think Bazaar magazine had covered a few places you could grab one from. Try one in a snazzy fun print.

A lot of places are selling superhero, cartoony, girly masks for children. Also, consider face shields, which also come in kiddy designs. In winter, you may also use a stroller that has a big shade that can cover your child or additionally use the rain attachment to cover the stroller completely. In the summer heat, that would be very dangerous, so never do that. In general, health organizations don’t recommend facemask under the age of 2, and the best way to keep them safe in public places where you cannot ensure 2-meter distance or them not touching anything is to keep them home. In any case, I believe a lot of public places here have a ban on children under 15 anyway.

I main issue i found was Parliament refused this fine, they said you cant fine people if there arent any masks (i havent seen a shortage tbh) also i have seen a general giving up amongst people no much a spite but just have had enough. Either way people hear have done much better than most in the uk we got bullied and spat on for wearing masks.

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