New World Long Bay checkout operator Komal Patel in mask and gloves. But should everyone in the shop wear the protective gear? Photo / Peter Meecham
New World Long Bay checkout operator Komal Patel in mask and gloves. But should everyone in the shop wear the protective gear? Photo / Peter Meecham
Opinion by Simon Wilson
Simon Wilson is an award-winning senior writer covering politics, the climate crisis, transport, housing, urban design and social issues. He joined the Herald in 2018.
When I went shopping last week, none of the staff in the supermarket was wearing a mask. About a third wore gloves. Only a couple of shoppers wore masks, a handful more wore gloves.
Shopper numbers were controlled, though, and the checkout operators all wore gloves and were behind Perspexbarriers. They didn't pack the bags and didn't let me either. I had to wheel my trolley into the car park and do it there. I imagine my experience is pretty common, all round the country.
I still don't really know how to think about this. Is that enough protection? Should we all be wearing more gear? The Ministry of Health has said no, but it announced on Saturday it was taking another look.
So are health authorities all over the world. Debate about masks, in particular, seems to be swinging in their favour.
We know Covid-19 is spread from the lungs of an infected person simply by their breathing, and carried in respiratory droplets capable of being sprayed several metres on a sneeze or cough. We also know it can survive a day or three on hard surfaces, and if we touch those surfaces with our hands, and then put our hands to our mouth, nose or eyes, we could become infected.
This has turned supermarkets into incubators. We go in there and we share what we've got. We breathe all over the packaged goods, and on the fresh produce, and on each other. A staffer restocking the shelves is breathing on every item they pick up. When you stop to decide which biscuits to buy, you could also be sharing your innermost microscopic mucus.
We're told masks don't offer full protection. Sure, that's easy enough to understand. But we're also told to cough and sneeze into a tissue or our elbows. That doesn't offer full protection either, but it's way better than just letting an Atishoo! rip in the shop.
The United States Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has done a U-turn with its guidelines and now recommends masks for anyone in public. Masks are common throughout Asia. In the Czech Republic and in Slovakia, you're not allowed to leave home unless you're wearing one; in Austria they're compulsory in supermarkets.
They don't know something we don't, they're just being more cautious.
Some say wearing a mask offers a false sense of security, although in my experience, because it's uncomfortable it's a constant reminder to be careful. Others say the discomfort makes people keep adjusting the mask, which means touching a possibly infected surface, and obviously that's not good.
But remember, it's not just for you. Almost none of us can be confident we're not infected. So if you wear a mask in the shop, you're helping protect everyone else.
Shoppers queueing at New World Havelock North, semi-observing their distance. We're doing well but are we doing well enough? Photo / Paul Taylor
And something else, for supermarkets. Where are the signs telling us what to do when we get home? Wash everything in soapy water then wash the soap off. Or leave the non-perishables in a bag outside the door for a couple of days: the virus will die. Wash our clothes, or leave them outside for a couple of days too. Why no prominent reminders about this?
There was a cop on duty outside the supermarket when I visited. Keeping his distance and being friendly. That was good. But he wasn't wearing a mask either. I know they often do, but in the high-risk situation of a supermarket incubator, couldn't they help by modelling good behaviour?
I'm not convinced about the discretion we're allowed in all this. More rules, please. All the evidence suggests we have the right policies to beat this thing, and we started early. That's immensely satisfying. But all could still be undone: We're doing well but not yet well enough.
The surfing ban, fair enough, I get that it can waste police resources. But making supermarkets as safe as they possibly can be, shouldn't that be near the top of the list?
Some say if we all wear masks there won't be enough for essential workers. That's legit. So maybe we make our own. There are many how-to guides online.
If you do it, use a thick material, not the most worn out T-shirt you can find, wear it tight on the face and wash it after use. Don't share. Make a few.
Do they work? In a study published in the Journal of Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness in Britain, surgical masks filtered 89 per cent of viral particles from volunteers' coughs, tea towels 72 per cent and cotton T-shirts 50 per cent.
Good argument for masks. And good enough for home-made ones, frankly.
How about we make them amazing? With spot prizes in supermarkets for specially beautiful ones? Ten bucks off your bill. Get people talking about it, lovin' their mask, wearing them properly.
