Masks — are you still wearing one? I ask this question hesitantly, because I don’t fancy being cancelled and I certainly don’t want to have a repeat of the conversation I had with a friend on Saturday, when I called him up for not wearing his face covering on a late-night Northern line.
I say “called up”, but it was meant as more of a nudge, really, assuming he’d absent-mindedly forgotten. As if any friend of mine would knowingly risk others’ health and break Tube safety guidelines?
Apparently I’m in a dwindling minority. Masks are no longer legally enforceable, but despite pressure from Downing Street, TfL still politely asks passengers to wear one as a “condition of carriage”. To me, that’s a no-brainer then, just like taking my shoes off inside someone’s house would be if they asked me to. Sure, it might not suit my outfit and my feet might not be as warm, but it’s certainly not an inconvenience worth making others feel uncomfortable over... is it?
A brief scan of any bus or Tube carriage these days tells me it is. This morning, more than 50 per cent of my Circle line carriage were mask-free. On my bus last night, that figure was closer to 70 (tell me I’m not the only one to notice it’s skewed towards a certain gender).
So why are growing numbers deciding not to cover up? Many cite discomfort, human rights and a belief that masks make no difference to transmission, but reasons are also increasingly political. Plan B has lifted and we are (hopefully) just weeks away from all Covid restrictions being lifted, yet the mask debate feels more toxic than ever.
I recently watched a Gen-Z Tube-goer being peer-pressured into removing her mask by a group of friends. My sister was recently yelled at for wearing a mask by a stranger on the Victoria Line until an off-duty policeman stepped in. A London theatre was recently attacked on Twitter for enforcing masks, with complainants calling it discrimination. The hashtag #takeoffyourmask is trending, and I’ve even seen mask-wearers accused of “virtue signalling”, as though we’re showing off.
I might not agree with anti-maskers’ language, but their point about optics is important. Yes, I wear my face covering for protection (mostly from coughers, partly from creepy men because it helps me feel more anonymous). But as a vaccinated, healthy twenty-something, I’m increasingly wearing mine to signal respect.
A third of Londoners are still unvaccinated, the NHS is on its knees and many vulnerable people and transport staff say they feel more comfortable travelling with others in masks. If it takes a little inconvenience on my part to make them feel safer, I think I can probably take the hit. Don’t you? Actually, forget it, you can’t hear me anyway. Given the direction these mask wars are going in, perhaps that’s no bad thing.
Are you still wearing your mask on the Tube? Let us know in the comments below.
