GOVE STEAMED UP OVER MASK ROW
Blurred outlook: Michael Gove struggles to get a clear view as he shops on the way to work today
PEOPLE will be “encouraged” to wear face coverings to grab a drink or food from coffee shops, a Cabinet minister said today after confusion in government over the policy.
Business Secretary Alok Sharma said today it would not be mandatory to don a mask in such outlets, as it will be in other shops from July 24.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock had said yesterday that people buying coffee to take out would have to wear a face covering, but not if they were sitting inside. No 10 later said face coverings would not be mandatory in order to get a takeaway at sandwich shops.
Mr Sharma told Sky News this morning: “We are encouraging people to wear face coverings when they are going into a cafe or a food-to-go establishment and they are not going to be sitting down and having a meal” but they would not be mandatory.
Meanwhile, Michael Gove wore a face covering to pick up a coffee this morning. Earlier this week the Cabinet minister was pictured not wearing a mask at a Pret store near Parliament, having previously said it was “basic good manners to wear a face mask if you are in a shop”. Today he wore a mask with an NHS logo as he got his coffee and sandwich from another Westminster cafe.
On Sunday Mr Gove said he opposed making face coverings mandatory in shops, but the following day Boris Johnson signalled that this would happen.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak wore a mask yesterday at the same Pret that Mr Gove had visited maskless. His appeared to have a relief valve, which stops glasses steaming up by allowing breath to be expelled easily, prompting critics to say such masks don’t protect people nearby. An aide to the Chancellor said his mask had a filter which made it safe.