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masks guidance for England will be ‘clear and strong’, says minister
- Edward Argar rejects criticism that the public could get mixed messages as Covid safety rules are lifted
People will be given “clear and strong guidance” about wearing masks even when the bulk of Covid rules are lifted across England says an article in The Guardian.
Mask Guidance for England
The junior health minister Edward Argar stressed the robustness of guidance about mask use in public spaces, continuing the toughening of official language ahead of Boris Johnson’s announcement about reopening later on Monday.
In an interview with ITV’s Good Morning Britain, Argar said people would be given “clear guidance, unambiguous guidance” on continued mask use.
With charities representing people who are clinically vulnerable to Covid, or have suppressed immune systems, expressing alarm that a mass drop-off in mask use could effectively confine them to their homes, ministers have in recent days said new guidance would urge the public to still wear masks in crowded indoor places such as trains and shops.
Facemasks reduce transmission
Asked on the Today program if face coverings should be mandatory, Prof Peter Openshaw, a lung immunology specialist at Imperial College London said: “I think it is very difficult to say that it is up to people to choose whether to wear face masks when it is not only protecting yourself but also protecting other people.
“It’s so much more straightforward to try to get face masks used in dangerous situations if there is some kind of compulsion behind it.”
Openshaw added: “I really don’t see why people are reluctant to wear face coverings, it is quite clear that they do greatly reduce transmission. Vaccines are fantastic but you have to give them time to work and in the meantime keeping up all those measures which we have learned to reduce the transmission is to be really vital.”
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Source: The Guardian
