The culture of social distancing and wearing face masks

Will the ‘normal’ slower pace of life in Sidmouth, the older population, and the lack of sandy beaches mean that the town and its hinterland will be a little less frenzied than other parts?

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The streets of Sidmouth are very narrow in places – so safeguards are being brought in to make shopping down the high street safer:

Strategies to open up Sidmouth: new safeguards – Vision Group for Sidmouth

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As part of these efforts, the Town Council and Chamber asked traders if they felt face masks should be worn by shoppers:

“The ‘norm’ to wear a mask when in a confined space such as a shop or office seems a prudent way of pre-empting what may become mandatory whilst at the same time helping to reassure both employees, residents and visitors. The message to customers should be that the mask is there to protect the person in the shop or office, rather than the wearer.”

Strategies to open up Sidmouth: protecting shoppers and workers – Vision Group for Sidmouth

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It is understood that the response was quite low, so there will not be an ‘official policy’ to encourage the wearing of face masks as such.

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Nevertheless, looking at the video of lockdown in Sidmouth by photographer Kyle Baker, many if not most of the folk queuing outside shops are wearing masks:

Locked Down in a Small Seaside Town: a film from Sidmouth – Vision Group for Sidmouth

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The question is whether Sidmouth is particularly vulnerable to the easing of lockdown:

“Or will the ‘normal’ slower pace of life, the older population, and the lack of sandy beaches mean that the town and its hinterland will be a little less frenzied than other parts?”

Easing lockdown in Sidmouth – Vision Group for Sidmouth

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Because the South-West is finding it difficult to cope with visitor numbers:

Teignbridge beach covered in litter during lockdown heatwave | uk.news.yahoo.com

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The more general question, then, is why people don’t observe 2 metres social distancing or wearing face masks…

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The nonchalant male is statistically more likely to catch Covid-19:

Bonnie Greer on Twitter: “This wk’s @TheNewEuropean-In which I ask, why #men (as a demographic) tend to indulge,in this #pandemic, in what is medically called:”risky behaviour.” Like not wearing #facemasks. This is bad. If you’re a guy, you’re more likely to die from #coronavirus https://t.co/B7YF5Fqgzu” / Twitter

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It seems to be a question of attitude:

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Risk taking may play a role

Male behavior during the pandemic also could be increasing their exposure to the novel coronavirus.

A Gallup poll taken between March 2 and 13 found that women were more concerned about COVID-19 than men were (by a 62 to 58 percent margin).

“It’s possible that men are more at risk because they tend to expose themselves more to larger crowds and social exchanges, including things like handshaking and sporting events,” said Dr. Stephen Berger, an infectious disease expert and co-founder of the Global Infectious Diseases and Epidemiology Network (GIDEON). 

“There are men with invincibility syndrome that underpins a lot of behaviors, and they tend to be less compliant” with pandemic-related restrictions such as physical distancing, said Salvatore J. Giorgianni, PharmD, a pharmacist and senior science advisor for the Men’s Health Network. For other men, he said, the issue isn’t so much a cavalier attitude as simply being conditioned “to think of health as ‘not their job.’”

Derek M. Griffith, PhD, director of the Institute for Research on Men’s Health at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee cautioned, however, that much remains unknown about COVID-19, including its different impact on men and women. “It’s worth considering these factors, but it’s a little premature,” he said. “Most of these statements seem to assume we know more about this disease than we do.”