Fine threat if you don’t wear mask
James on his bike that was stolen
ANYONE not following the new rules on face coverings could be fined, says the government.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said a ‘gentle approach’ to enforcement would be used over the first couple of days after face coverings are made compulsory on public transport in England on Monday.
He told the Downing Street briefing: “Remembering your face covering should be the same as picking up your phone, your wallet or your purse whenever you’re leaving your house.”
Responding to whether people should wear face coverings at all times in public, Mr Shapps said: “By its very nature if you are on a train or a plane or a ferry or a bus you are in an enclosed area.
“That is not the case if you are out and about on the streets. And I think that may be the principle difference of this.”
Network Rail’s chairman Sir Peter Hendy backed up Mr Shapps’ message.
He said: “The reality of our transport systems and particularly as the economy ramps up is that there will be more occasions at which you might be closer to people than you would care for.
“So it seems perfectly logical to me and all my colleagues and transport operators to mandate face coverings now, because as we get to Monday and the restart of non-essential retail and looking at more people going to work it is much more likely that you’ll see, or be close to, other people.
“So face coverings is a sensible thing to do and we’re expecting on Monday, because passengers are hugely sensible, for people to be wearing face coverings.”
NHS England medical director Professor Stephen Powis added that ‘the evidence is weak, but nevertheless there is some evidence and it is better for closed spaces than open spaces where there is less risk of transmission.’
Mr Shapps sought to allay concerns that the R value could be above one in the south west of England.
Asked about a local lockdown, he said: “I wouldn’t want to rule anything out but I think probably that the south west figure today isn’t quite as being reported.
“I think not to be overly alarmed because as Professor Steve Powis said it was actually the top of a range which had a number of others that showed it was below 1.”
Prof Powis said: “R is of course a very important way of looking at this but there are other things that we look at.”
But he said the ONS surveillance study showed a ‘steady reduction’ in the number of infections in the community.