Of the 2,000 adult respondents, 29 per cent said they were embarrassed at the thought of leaving the house wearing a mask. (Source: Getty/Thinkstock)

At a time when social distancing and wearing a mask to cover the nose and mouth has become a norm, some people are shying away from following these protocols. A recent survey has revealed that a majority of adults will refuse to wear face masks in public places, especially in restaurants. In fact, regardless of government advice, 6 out of 10 adults have said that they will refuse to wear a face mask.

The poll was conducted via OnePoll — a market research company — with 2,000 adult respondents, of which 29 per cent said they were embarrassed at the thought of leaving the house wearing a mask. While seven persons out of 10 said they would wear a mask when taking a public transport, a whopping 84 per cent of respondents said they had no intention of wearing one when they are out walking, and 75 per cent said they would not consider wearing a mask when they are meeting family and friends.

Some people (one in 10) even went to the extent of saying that they will not wear a mask in public even if it were to become a law.

According to The Independent, Ashley Mealor from Vision Direct, which carried out the research, said, “Face masks will become the norm, and users will need to find ways to make them comfortable and effective. They will take a bit of getting used to, as they can be uncomfortable, particularly if you are a glasses wearer, have a skin condition, or are particularly sensitive. Some people may just not like the feeling of being claustrophobic — there are lots of reasons why it may be difficult to get the whole of the general public to embrace mask wearing. But as other countries have demonstrated, this may become necessary to fight the pandemic once and for all.”

It was also found in the survey that 46 per cent of adults had not even tried using a mask at all. While 87 per cent of respondents would refuse to wear a mask when they are exercising, 84 per cent would ditch it for a date. Many respondents said they do not like the idea of not being able to show others their smile.