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Experience of not wearing a face covering

Lotus

Hi, I would like to share experiences of not wearing a face covering in shops since they became 'mandatory ' with others who have also done this, or are considering it.

I was rather nervous about going into a shop because I thought that if I didn't wear a mask people might challenge me, and possibly not understand and be unsympathetic. I had looked at getting an exemption badge and lanyard for me & my partner but the ones I initially found seemed expensive. We get a weekly groceries delivery, so only need to go into a shop occasionally, but did miss being able to go in and get things if we wanted to.

Then I saw a comment on an online newspaper article which mentioned there were free downloadable and printable badges /cards on the Gov.UK website, which they have provided for people who feel more comfortable using them (even though they are not actually required) I printed two off and put them into 2 badge holders on lanyards, which I bought from Amazon for £4.99 (for a pack of 2)

So we went to our local Iceland store today - rather nervously - and it was ok. A girl stacking shelves (without a mask on) looked at us a bit strangely (we weren't sure what her expression meant - but then we're not good at reading faces of course) but nobody challenged us and after picking up the few items we needed we queued at a distance behind an elderly couple checking out - they were wearing masks but not paying any attention to us, and a young male store assistant was packing their shopping for them and chatting with no mask on. When it was our turn to be served, the friendly lady on the till greeted us and then asked where we got our badges from. I told her it was the government website and she said she needed to get some so would look on there.

Have you had good or bad experiences when not wearing a face covering? Do you wear a badge or not? If you do, perhaps you could also share where you got yours and how much it cost. I just thought it would be nice to be supportive to others who may be worried about this - hopefully if many start wearing them it will make people aware that it is ok for some people not to wear them and reduce negative reactions.

Parents

  • I've only went into a few places since it was brought in and most of the time without one it was ok other than some people looking at me.

    When I was walking into primark with a line of people the security guard said "have you got a face mask pal" and I panicked and said I don't need one then I walked straight back out cause I couldn't cope with the embarassment and gave in and bought one. Being challenged like that put a dampner on my mood for the next hour so I came to the conclusion that putting up with the discomfort and anxiety of feeling like a robber I would just wear one to avoid having any more emotional stress. Ironically when I started wearing one in the post office and McDonalds takeaway yesterday most other people weren't wearing one which also gave me anxiety with them looking at me as if I'm a sheep scared of the virus. I couldn't deal with a badge giving people another reason to look at me.

    Other than my ASD I have acne on my face, feel it hard to breath and it keeps going over my eyes (person in the queue behind me in Lidl had to wait ages when I was packing my bag since I had to keep readjusting the mask). 

    Personally I am not spluttering anything over anyone and feel like it is doing more harm than good by not allowing the bacteria and CO2 to leave my body freely. It's quite ridiculous when the shops have you touch basket and trolley handles that aren't disinfected, this is where the virus actually spreads

  • in reply to NAS62563

    I understand your reasoning that a badge may give people a reason to look at you, however I feel that they will still look at me if I'm not wearing a badge, just because I'm not wearing a mask like they are and they wonder why I'm not following the rules.

    It was difficult to walk into that shop without a mask on, because all the other customers had them on, and part of me wanted to go up to people, hold up my badge and say "Look, I'm exempt, I'm not breaking any laws!" But of course in reality we just scuttled round the shop grabbing what we needed and then quietly queued to pay. 

    As I'm likely to get looked at whether I have a badge on or not, I'm wearing one to try to raise awareness of exemptions. Of course it is everyone's personal choice whether to wear one or not - you are not required to.

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  • in reply to NAS62563

    I understand your reasoning that a badge may give people a reason to look at you, however I feel that they will still look at me if I'm not wearing a badge, just because I'm not wearing a mask like they are and they wonder why I'm not following the rules.

    It was difficult to walk into that shop without a mask on, because all the other customers had them on, and part of me wanted to go up to people, hold up my badge and say "Look, I'm exempt, I'm not breaking any laws!" But of course in reality we just scuttled round the shop grabbing what we needed and then quietly queued to pay. 

    As I'm likely to get looked at whether I have a badge on or not, I'm wearing one to try to raise awareness of exemptions. Of course it is everyone's personal choice whether to wear one or not - you are not required to.

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