Face coverings to be made compulsory in shops in England
Face coverings are to be made compulsory in all shops in England from 24 July, with a fine of up to £100 for those who do not comply, the government is expected to announce today.
Since May, the public have been advised to wear face coverings in enclosed meeting spaces, but they have only been mandatory on public transport until now.
Face masks will now be mandatory in all shops in England, with £100 fines for those who enter stores without one. This will be reduced to £50 if people pay within 14 days.
Shop workers are not expected to have to enforce the rules, and will not be forced to wear one to work. Environment secretary George Eustice told the BBC: “It won’t be a compulsory requirement because it won’t always be right for every setting in a retail environment, particularly those working behind the tills and so on.”
The move will see England catch up with Scotland, where masks were made compulsory last week, and Italy, Spain and Germany, where face coverings have been essential for some months.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock is expected to set out the new guidance on face coverings this morning, following pressure from the public to implement measures to stem the spread of the virus.
The Office for National Statistics last week found that more than half of adults surveyed in England, Wales and Scotland said they used a covering while outside their home.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme this morning that using a face covering “is a small thing which along with other measures can make a massive difference”.
The British Retail Consortium welcomed the move, and said mandatory face coverings in shops in England will give people “confidence” after days of “mixed messages”.
“The clarity we’re going to get today for implementation in about 10 days’ time is going to give a level of reassurance,” said chief executive Helen Dickinson.
“Clarity is really important to give people that confidence. It is absolutely true that sales and footfall are returning only very slowly to our high streets and town centres and shopping centres up and down the country.”
It comes as Britain’s scientific experts today warned that the UK must start “intense preparation” for a second wave later this year that could kill as many as 120,000 hospital patients in a worst case scenario.
Senior doctors and scientists were convened by the Academy of Medical Sciences and commissioned by chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance to model a reasonable worst case scenario for a coronavirus resurgence this winter.
“The modelling suggests that deaths could be higher with a new wave of Covid-19 this winter, but the risk of this happening could be reduced if we take action immediately,” said Stephen Holgate, chair of the expert group and professor of immunopharmacology at the University of Southampton.
There have now been more than 290,000 confirmed cases in the UK, and 44,830 deaths.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson was said to have U-turned on his decision not to enforce a nationwide lockdown in March after hearing forecasts from a group of scientists led by Professor Neil Ferguson, who said that without immediate action coronavirus could kill 500,000 people in the UK in the reasonable worst case scenario.
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