Honestly what is the big deal about wearing masks whenever you are out?

it's not about a virus, it's about control.

Most people I've seen are actually wearing masks where they should in all honesty, I think the bigger problem is those who think it's a good idea to have parties with 50+ people - that does wonders in spreading any infectious agent quickly, let alone Covid-19...

cases have gone up since they were made.mandatory. it's not about a virus, it's about control.

That is the problem too, I agree. But from what I see (I’m in York rn) the streets are full of people and I can barely see any social distancing going on there. I think it’s time to step it up further and wear masks on the streets because outdoor spaces are not as ‘well-ventilated’ as people thought. It is counter-productive to have people take off masks once they are out of public transport/shopping areas, as they will be in contact with viruses and bacteria when they handle/store masks improperly. Plus, with the crowded streets it’s just similar to parties with 50+ people not wear masks.

Realistically speaking, you won't catch the virus just by walking past someone unless they are positive for the virus and spit/ cough/ sneeze on you and you breathe those droplets in - that's the reason for the 2m distance rule.
Breathing oxygen is good for your brain and health so making mask-wearing outside mandatory would not be my ideal solution.
I think the government should focus on public education similar to the swine flue pandemic of "catch it, bin it, kill it" - i.e. if you are going to sneeze/ cough etc, don't do it in open air. Have a tissue ready or even the crook of your arm and then dispose of it and wash/ sanitise your hands.
I've seen so many people sneeze or cough in air without bothering to cover up - and actually even if you are wearing a mask, you'll still be spreading it, because most people don't wear masks which are very effective (you'd have to use an FFP3 or other high grade mask to really limit risk, which obviously most people don't) - also a lot of people don't wear their mask correctly which renders it useless

Realistically speaking, you won't catch the virus just by walking past someone unless they are positive for the virus and spit/ cough/ sneeze on you and you breathe those droplets in - that's the reason for the 2m distance rule.
Breathing oxygen is good for your brain and health so making mask-wearing outside mandatory would not be my ideal solution.
I think the government should focus on public education similar to the swine flue pandemic of "catch it, bin it, kill it" - i.e. if you are going to sneeze/ cough etc, don't do it in open air. Have a tissue ready or even the crook of your arm and then dispose of it and wash/ sanitise your hands.
I've seen so many people sneeze or cough in air without bothering to cover up - and actually even if you are wearing a mask, you'll still be spreading it, because most people don't wear masks which are very effective (you'd have to use an FFP3 or other high grade mask to really limit risk, which obviously most people don't) - also a lot of people don't wear their mask correctly which renders it useless

I guess this article sums it up:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-52015486

I don’t understand why you’ve shown me this article?

The spread of infection is dependant on many factors such as the load and virulence factor etc. Technically speaking, a lot of infectious diseases could be spread by talking - because talking can create aerosols which carry the virus. However the risk of being infected via someone talking to you is unlikely due to the factors I’ve mentioned. If you can show me solid research which provides evidence that Covid-19 can be spread by asymptomatic people simply talking then I’ll happily change my stance, but until then, I’m unconvinced mask wearing will have much, if any, effect in the situation you’ve described.

I’m in no way against mask-wearing (in fact I’m wearing one right now as I type this) but there are some situations where masks are unlikely to have much of an effect, if any, and being outdoors in open air is one of those (obviously being coughed or sneezed at is a separate story).

It’s just that in a lot of more rural parts of the UK, unfortunately, people are still skeptical about mask wearing and only reluctantly and incorrectly wear it in shops/public transport. This renders the policy useless when they don’t wear it correctly and treat it seriously.

For Covid-19, there is an incubation period of up to 14 days. During those 14 days there won’t be any symptoms, which makes community transmission hard to contain even with track and trace when more and more people get infected.

Asymptomatic transmission can be referred to presymptomatic transmission of Sars-Cov-2 research, but in itself there are quite a few that talks about asymptomatic transmission too. This includes:

Furukawa, N. W., Brooks, J. T., & Sobel, J. (2020). Evidence supporting transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 while presymptomatic or asymptomatic. Emerging infectious diseases, 26(7).

Gandhi, M., Yokoe, D. S., & Havlir, D. V. (2020). Asymptomatic transmission, the Achilles’ heel of current strategies to control COVID-19.

The article above briefly touches on the difference in attitude towards mask-wearing in East Asia versus the West. It is mainly due to them having experienced SARS in 2003, which makes such a drastic difference in people’s response to Covid-19 and mask-wearing. To sum it up, they will sacrifice their temporary “ability to breathe” for the long-term benefit of making the pandemic end sooner. And so far if you look at the statistics I would say what they are doing is working. Hence why I am suggesting this and bring it up here.

cases have gone up since they were made.mandatory. it's not about a virus, it's about control.

I can't wear one. As soon as I try to put them on, my head starts to hurt and I struggle to breath. I don't know why? I have tried loads of masks and different things, but it just doesn't work for me. Wherever I have to I do put it on though!