Commuters are wearing masks incorrectly

Calls for a national campaign to educate public on how to safely wear face coverings

MANY commuters are wearing face masks and coverings incorrectly, putting themselves and others at risk, scientific advisers have warned.

While almost nine in 10 people state that they are following official rules on wearing face coverings on public transport, many are unwittingly flouting guidance on how to use them, according to experts advising the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage).

Prof Susan Michie, a member of the Sage subgroup on behavioural science, called for a national campaign to “train” the population on how to use masks and other face coverings, akin to the instructions issued by the Government on handwashing in March.

Dr Ben Killingley, a consultant in infectious diseases, who sits on Sage’s environmental working group, said he agreed on the need for a public campaign. Face coverings were likely to “be around for a while” and “we’re not as used to them as other countries”, he said.

Guidelines on the gov.uk website state: “Do not touch the front of the face covering, or the part of the face covering that has been in contact with your mouth and nose. Once removed, make sure you clean any surfaces the face covering has touched.” The guidelines also state that coverings, which include bandannas and those made from T-shirts, should cover the mouth and nose, and be immediately placed into a plastic bag once used.

But Prof Michie warned that many members of the public appeared unaware of the guidelines on how to use face coverings safely. Instead, people appear to often pull their coverings below their nose, and hold the front of the items to remove them, rather than just using the straps or ties behind their head. Experts have warned that the front of used masks could be contaminated, meaning that removing them incorrectly could spread coronavirus to the wearer’s fingers and surfaces in their homes or workplaces.

Prof Michie said: “Anytime one goes out and around in parks and down the street this is the sort of thing you see.”

She added: “What you could easily have is two small bags rather like those sort of plastic airplane bags. One is for a clean mask and one is for the dirty mask. And you have your dirty bag, and that gets tipped straight into hot soapy water and washed when you get home.

“But it won’t have occurred to people to do that. I find it quite frustrating when there are such small things that could be done to help suppress this virus and they’re not being done. They are opportunities wasted.”

The warnings come as a poll found that 88 per cent of people who took public transport last week say that they wore a mask or face covering in line with government guidance. The survey of 2,000 adults, by Redfield & Wilton Strategies, also found that 81 per cent of people supported the decision to make face coverings compulsory on public transport. A majority (51 per cent) said the Government should extend the rule to all confined public spaces, compared with 30 per cent who disagreed.

But Prof Michie said “observational data” was needed to provide empirical evidence on how different people were wearing coverings in different settings, including on public transport and in workplaces, given the extent to which they appeared to be used incorrectly.

She added: “I think the main thing is that where you have a behaviour that requires some kind of skill, and some kind of routine and procedure to make it effective, then usually it’s not enough to say do this, ie transmit knowledge, but we also need to have training.

“If it’s a question of skills, ie the behaviour surrounding the putting on, off and wearing of, then it does require skills training.”

‘Where you have a behaviour that requires some kind of skill, then we also need to have training’