The great Covid cover up

GROWING numbers of people are disappearing behind a face covering in response to the new normality in the aftermath of the global coronavirus emergency.

The basic medical face mask - available at a bargain 96 cents thanks to Spanish lawmakers stamping down on possible profiteering - is already giving way to more fashionable alternatives and a blaze of colour as imaginations get to work.

Spain tops the leader board with 86% of people saying they are happy to wear a face covering - compared to just 36% back in Britain.

And with a growing number of Spanish regional governments making the wearing of masks compulsory on the streets, it seems likely that it’s only a matter of time Valencia also insists on the public covering up outdoors.

The science is constantly changing - and in different countries the rules and advice are constantly mutating too...making it sometimes difficult to know when and where to don a mask.

The World Health Organisation

now believes wearing a mask protects others from the possible spread of Covid-19 in close quarters.

The boffins are advising people they should cover up when they are forced to close up and lose the all important social distancing.

It is a view that at least has some common sense when remembering the virus is still amongst us all and we must all play our part in preventing a second wave of the silent killer.

However, more and more governments are moving away from trusting in the responsible attitude of their citizens and drawing up new rules to make face masks compulsory in a variety of situations. Failure to comply means the risk of a financial penalty.

Leading the way to set an example are political leaders and public figures. Even Donald Trump is wearing a mask, for once listening to advisors on the importance of sending the right signal to the public.

Back in Blighty the situation has had a certain comedy value. Michael Gove was photographed leaving Pret a Manger without a face covering; moments later cabinet colleague Liz Truss emerged from the same branch of Pret sporting a bright blue mask.

People visiting shops in England must wear a mask from July 24 but the government has no plans to make it mandatory for office workers health secretary Matt Hancock explaining face coverings helped protect and prevent contagion during short interactions with strangers but not when working alongside colleagues over several hours; the same logic will apply when students return to schools, colleges and universities.

Scotland already requires shoppers to be covered up, Wales and Northern Ireland apparently still weighing up the concept.

Mask wearing on public transport in England and at NHS facilities across the UK was made mandatory on June 15.

Here in Spain we have been required to carry a mask since the end of state of alarm. It must be worn on public transport and outdoors when social distancing is impossible and with the summer season upon us, that is fast becoming a commonplace situation.

And that is the argument behind various regions demanding people cover up. A safety first policy aimed at helping prevent local spikes in infection rates. Sadly it does not make wearing a face cover a pleasant experience, especially as temperatures rise and tempers become a little more brittle.

It seems we are all invited to the masked ball and the dress code is compulsory.