Face masks must be worn in shops
MANDATORY face coverings will help save lives - and reassure people that it’s safe to go out and spend money, Health Secretary Matt Hancock has told the House of Commons.
Formally announcing plans to make face coverings compulsory in shops, he revealed that male shop assistants have been 75% more likely to die of coronavirus than men in general.
Mr Hancock said: “We want to give people more confidence to shop safely, and enhanced protections for those who work in shops.
“Both of these can be done by the use of face coverings.”
As of July 24, shoppers will need to cover their nose and mouth or risk a £100 fine, reduced to £50 if it is paid within 14 days.
It will be up to police to dish out penalties and not business owners or shop workers, although they are being asked to encourage customers to comply.
The regulations will be made under the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984.
But the announcement follows weeks of mixed messages. As recently as Sunday, Cabinet Minister Michael Gove said the public could be trusted to use their “common sense” in choosing whether to cover their nose and mouth.
And Labour Shadow Health Secretary Jonathan Ashworth said the announcement follows “days of ministerial muddle.”
Mr Hancock faced criticism from South Shields MP Emma LewellBuck, who said specialist Nightingale hospitals set up for coronavirus patients, such as the 460-bed hospital in Wearside, should have been used to protect care home residents.
She said: “Nightingales sat empty while his government’s guidance allowed people to die needlessly in care homes.
“With 120,000 extra deaths predicted this winter, when will he be making changes to this guidance?”
Mr Hancock said the Nightingale hospitals were designed very specifically for incubated patients who were not conscious.
City of Durham MP Mary Foy urged the Health Secretary to provide funding to local health officials to help them develop plans for dealing with outbreaks.
She said: “The only way directors of public health can properly tackle Covid19 is through an integrated approach to testing, tracing and outbreak management. “Currently, the government is treating each of those separately, with little regard to how they are inter-connected.”
North West Durham MP Richard Holden told the Health Secretary that people needed confidence that the track and trace system is working. Mr Hancock told him that 145,000 people had isolated as a result of being warned by the track and trace system that they may have been infected.
The Government has been reluctant to enforce the wearing of face coverings, and its guidance states they do not protect the wearer but may protect others if people are infected but have not yet developed symptoms.
Some of the Government’s most senior advisers have warned that face coverings can give people a false sense of security and lead to overreliance on “ineffective homemade masks” rather than thorough hand hygiene.
The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) says incorrect use of coverings - such as putting them on incorrectly, touching the face more than normal and reusing dirty ones - could increase the spread of infection.
The Government has said coverings can be made from scarves, bandanas or other fabric items, as long as they cover the mouth and nose.
The public have been asked not to use medical-grade personal protective equipment (PPE) masks to ensure these remain available for frontline healthcare workers.