The masks are coming off. In about a week, all social distancing rules down south will be lifted.
The requirement to wear face masks will then become a matter of personal choice.
Some see this as a cause for celebration while others are deeply concerned.
But before we start turning on each other, let’s parse this out a bit.
Aside from the debate about the efficacy of face masks, a feeling has set in that those who are less keen on them are simply culture war edge-lords.
And as with the culture war – where one opinion is taken as proof positive that the individual concerned is an irredeemable banger – face mask scepticism is viewed by increasing numbers as a red-flag for thoughtless conspiracy theorists and right-wing headcases.
This is naive. A person’s beliefs and political leanings cannot be reliably predicted based solely on their adherence to social-distancing guidelines.
I know nurses and local business owners who are furious at what they regard as nonsensical public health advice.
Similarly, I know people who practically live off the grid, who comply willingly as they have assessed the risk is too great.
Whatever we may think of the view that mandatory mask wearing is oppressive, or that lockdowns have caused more harm than they’ve solved, it is unwise to essentialise people politically based on their views on Covid.
This is not like debates about flags, free speech or wokeness. There is a wide spectrum of lockdown scepticism and not all of it deserves to be dismissed out of hand.
Some regard the risk of Covid as no greater than the many other risks we take on a daily basis.
Masks play an important part in limiting community transmission – this is backed by science – but for many, they are also symbolic of the often chaotic and contradictory responses we have seen from governments.
Pictures of world leaders and royalty mingling with no masks, and of mass sports events taking place while others can’t attend funerals, or of former health secretaries getting their end away, have not exactly dampened the sense that there is one rule for some and one for others.
Into the bargain, the UK is comprised of some of the most unequal, poorly run, socially unjust nations in the Western world.
The consequences of this have been felt during the pandemic, both in the increased mortality rates seen among poor and marginalised groups but also, notably, in the lower levels of public trust in government and other authorities – when compared to places such as Scandinavia.
In many of our poorest communities, resignation in the face of illness and the likelihood of an early death is commonplace. It’s an adaptation people go through to reconcile themselves to the endless ills posed by poverty. People become adjusted to the threats they face, developing an often worryingly high threshold for what makes them feel vulnerable.
We each possess a slightly different risk aversity. A slightly different sensitivity to the threats we perceive.
I personally feel wearing a mask is a considerate thing to do. If I catch Covid, I’ll probably be OK – I wear the mask because I know it puts others at ease.
Like every other personal decision or form of expression in life, when law permits that the masks can be thrown off, you will just have to respect other people’s choices – and they yours.
Injection of positivity for drug users
Methadone alternative Buvidal is to be rolled out across Scotland after a successful trial in prisons.
Like methadone, the drug is designed to tackle heroin addiction but unlike the often daily scripts dispensed at chemists, patients receive a Buvidal injection every 28 days.
The benefits of this are obvious.
For one, no more waiting in Boots or Lloyds, being judged harshly by other customers.
No more having to plan your entire life around frequent trips to the pharmacist, where people are often preyed upon by dealers.
And as well as that bit of stability and dignity, the side effects of Buvidal are not as severe, meaning people can use the extra time to work on their recovery, look for work or get back into education. While every drug has pros and cons, this is a step in the right direction in terms of broadening the range of tools available in the drug death crisis.
It’s nice to read a positive story about it every now and then.
Don't ignore small stuff either
We are often encouraged not to sweat the small stuff in life.
That obsessing over the little things is bad for our mental health.
While that is partly true, it can also become a justification for not attending to those rather boring daily tasks that keep our lives ticking over.
The unopened envelopes.
The outstanding invoices.
The well overdue GP appointment.
One day we wake up with a feeling that something isn’t right.
That we are not ourselves. We focus on the feelings of mild discomfort and speculate, are we depressed?
But sometimes that uneasy feeling arises precisely because we’ve been neglecting the basics.
Do you have a niggling task needing completed?
Why not set aside 10 minutes today, set aside the feelings of resistance, and just attack it.
You might feel better afterwards.
Don’t sweat the small stuff, obviously, but don’t ignore it either.
