[Angostura]

> You can't seriously expect asymptomatic people to wear masks in public forever.

Before we catastrophise, how about we start with the pragmatic - ask people to wear masks while infection rates are high. Which is unlikely to be forever

There's a big difference between 'Covid is going to be with us forever' and 'Covid infection rates will threaten to overwhelm health services forever'.

[marcan_42]

FWIW, case rates in Japan are near nil (~15 people daily in Tokyo), the vaccination rate is closing in on 80%, and everyone still wears a mask.

I don't know about "forever", but people in Japan have no problem wearing masks in public while asymptomatic with low case rates because we know it's a public health issue, and it's working. That's why we keep wearing them.

I wasn't used to masking up pre-pandemic. I got used to it within the first month. Now I can't leave the house without a mask on. It feels wrong. (This doesn't mean I'm deathly afraid to remove/lower it, e.g. while eating at restaurants or when I'm outside with nobody around and I feel like a bit of a break).

[syshum]

You clearly then do not suffer from poor eye-sight that requires you to where a mechanical device on your face (i.e glasses) to correct for this

How every abelist of you.

My experience with masks, and glasses is very poor, specifically the more common cloth masks that go over the ears. Something like a Gaiter mask is slightly better but many say these are less effective

[throwaway946513]

I too wear glasses. It depends on the kind of mask.

Disposable surgical masks with the "metal-bendy-bit" for the bridge of your nose has worked great for me.

I also use cloth masks all the time due to the ease of keeping one on me, and washing it with the whites and bleach at the end of the date. Cloth masks definitely fog up my glasses more, but I find that adjusting them and not breathing through my mask help me.

[jmopp]

I'm the exaxt opposite. Before wearing a mask I would routinely have trouble keeping my glasses on. When I wear a mask it's actually easier to wear glasses because I can hook the sides into the ear loops and they won't fall off when I look down.

[marcan_42]

Japan has plenty of people with poor eyesight who wear glasses, including several friends of mine, and nobody has a problem with masks.

[hn_throwaway_99]

I agree with this, but in many places in the US health authorities have kept mask mandates indefinitely, regardless of current hospital capacity.