Mask or no mask

[DJ]

Big confusion in Palekastro, Sitia, whether the wearing of masks outdoors as well as in is for everywhere in Greece or just the red areas. Anyone know the exact rule ?

[Kilkis]

As from 06:00 Saturday it is mandatory to wear a mask at all times in all public areas, indoors and outdoors, in all areas of the country. The night curfew only applies to areas in Category 3 or 4.

Warwick

[Jean]

As from 06:00 Saturday it is mandatory to wear a mask at all times in all public areas, indoors and outdoors, in all areas of the country.

Are you sure? From what I had read yesterday I understood that it only applied to areas 3 and 4. Been out all day today so I haven't been following the latest news

[margarita]

This article reporting the Prime Minister's speech

https://www.apokoronaslife.gr/?p=77933 In English

seems to make it clear that masks are mandatory outdoors.

and in Greek

https://www.apokoronaslife.gr/?p=77933

[Kilkis]

Here is the article. Read it and see what you make of it.

Night curfew from 12:30 midnight until 05:00 a.m. in the regional units category 3 and 4 – Exception those who work at night and emergencies. Attica and Thessaloniki are included in these categories.

Mandatory use of masks in- and outdoors.

“In cafes and restaurants masks can be removed once people sit at a table,” the PM said.

He added that the measures go in force at 06:00 a.m. Saturday, October 24, 2020. He did not reveal for how long the measures will be implemented.

So the curfew is explicitly associated with protection levels 3 and 4 but the mask wearing doesn't seem to be linked to protection levels 3 and 4, it seems to be quite general.

Warwick

PS I am never sure of anything in Greece.

[Kilkis]

Even clearer in the article linked by Margarita, my emphasis in red:

The obligatory use of a mask everywhere was announced by the Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in his speech, as the first measure to stop the spread of the coronavirus. At the same time, in the areas located at levels 3 and 4, traffic is prohibited from 00.30 at night until 05.00 in the morning. The measures take effect at six on Saturday morning .

Warwick

[Jean]

In the linked article it mentions "According to newspaper ethnos, the mandatory use of masks in-and outdoors is for Categories 3 and 4."
The whole thing is clear as mud

[Kilkis]

Or as clear as Johnson as we Brits say?

Warwick

[shine on]

Simple self rule for me - always wear a mask wherever I go. Or if you prefer, just follow the crowd, I was in Lidl today and a lot of people think that to wear a mask properly, is to place it under the chin, obviously the chin being the most vulnerable part of the face

[Kilkis]

Greek anatomy is different from normal anatomy, Shine on. That is why, when riding a motorbike they wear the crash helmet to protect their elbows. Very fragile elbows the Greeks.

Logically the rule is very simple. Stay far away from all other people at all times. If there are times when you can't stay far away from all other people, wear a mask. Following that rule will slow the spread of the virus. Unfortunately if you want to make a rule that is enforceable by law this rule isn't very suitable so they invent lots of very specific rules. The very specific rules are not that good at suppressing the virus.

The main problem, however, is that a very large number of people will simply not follow any rules.

A beautiful piece of government thinking from the UK. They have used carrot and stick to try to get people to obey the self isolation rules. If you are told to self isolate by the NHS Test and Trace team and you are low paid you can claim a grant of £500 to support you while you self isolate. If you are caught not self isolating there is a fine of £1,000 and that can rise up to £10,000 for multiple offences. Not an unreasonable system. They also need the contact tracing App to be widely adopted in order to trace contacts that the person who tested positive doesn't know. If you download the App and the App tells you to self isolate, because you are deemed to have been in contact with someone who has tested positive, you CAN'T claim the £500. Magic.

Warwick

[margarita]

This is an excerpt from the Prime Minister's speech as reported in the article I mentioned above:

"...we respond with two new measures:

First, in areas with a dangerous increase of cases, those of levels 3 and 4, the traffic will be prohibited from 12.30 after midnight until 5.00 in the morning. Excluded, of course, are those who work at night and in emergencies. The aim is to reduce commuting and evening gatherings, which favor the transmission of the virus. With less fun, perhaps, for a while. But with more health for a long time. A prediction that already applies, after all, in many European capitals and regions. And the first report is encouraging.

Second, the use of a mask becomes mandatory everywhere. Not only indoors but also outdoors. Because the coronavirus lurks everywhere, without waiting at the entrance of a store. "He does not eat at the door", to speak in the language of the younger ones. To put it simply, we will enter the cafe or restaurant from now on with a mask. Which we will remove only when we sit at the table. And of course the ban on standing in indoor rooms is still in force. I will repeat: The mask is the vaccine before the vaccine. If two citizens wear it properly and one is infected, the chance of transmission when they are together is infinitesimal."

It would appear that the use of masks everywhere is not related to measures in the higher level areas.

[Jean]

Margarita, I had reead this but on the other hand here is a quote by Nikos Hardalias in today's Xaniotkia Nea ( https://www.haniotika-nea.gr/ti-allazei ... perioches/ ) "Τα δύο νέα μέτρα που ανακοίνωσε ο πρωθυπουργός Κυριάκος Μητσοτάκης για την πανδημία του κορωνοϊού, μέσω του διαγγέλματός του προς τον ελληνικό λαό το απόγευμα της Πέμπτης αφορούν τις «κόκκινες» και «πορτοκαλί» περιοχές και αποτελούν: την υποχρεωτική χρήση μάσκας παντού και την απαγόρευση κυκλοφορίας μετά τις 00:30 έως τις 05:00 "
So he is saying that it concerns the red and orange areas. OK, I admit that the word "only" is missing to make it REALLY clear but to me it does leave the whole thing open to interpretation.

[Kilkis]

I tend to make a rule of listening to the organ grinder not the monkey?

Such confusion is widespread in the UK with different ministers saying different things on an almost daily basis. On one day Johnson presented a new set of rules and then when questioned about them a couple of hours later didn't know what they were.

Warwick

[margarita]

Jean, I agree that everything you read says something different - not helped in my case by most of it being via Google Translate!

I am inclined to go along with shine on and wear a mask at all time outdoors.

[Kilkis]

People should use common sense but only the common sense that defeats the virus not the "common sense" that lets them do what they want to do.

I have a friend who walks his dogs on some country tracks every afternoon. He never sees another single person, ever. What purpose would wearing a mask serve? He carries a mask with him. If there were other people he would wear it.

When you go to a taverna, however, you typically need to pass close to other people to get to your table. They are not wearing masks because they are already seated and eating their meal. If you unknowingly have COVID-19 and are shedding the virus you could infect them as you pass close to them. Wearing a mask until you get to your own table, which should be socially distanced from every other table, and then removing it reduces the risk of the virus being passed on. If you are in a street in town you have no real control over how close people are going to pass to you. The street might not be very crowded but you are heading in a particular direction and they are heading in another direction such that your paths cross close together. It makes sense to wear a mask in that situation to reduce the risk of passing on the infection not only if you are in a crowded square.

I'm not sure why Europeans seem to be so anti-mask wearing? Anything at all that reduces the spread of the virus is worth doing. Wearing a mask is cheap and has no real impact on the economy overall, unlike movement restrictions.

Warwick