- Sputnik International
World
Get the latest news from around the world, live coverage, off-beat stories, features and analysis.

UK Government to Announce Decision on Mandatory Masks in Shops in Coming Days

© AFP 2023 / NIKLAS HALLE'NCommuters wearing face masks walk through the concourse at Waterloo Station in London on June 15, 2020 after new rules make wearing face coverings on public transport compulsory while the UK further eases its coronavirus lockdown. - New coronavirus pandemic rules coming into force on June 15 make wearing face coverings such as masks or scarves compulsory on public transport, as various stores and outdoor attractions open for the first time in nearly three months.
Commuters wearing face masks walk through the concourse at Waterloo Station in London on June 15, 2020 after new rules make wearing face coverings on public transport compulsory while the UK further eases its coronavirus lockdown. - New coronavirus pandemic rules coming into force on June 15 make wearing face coverings such as masks or scarves compulsory on public transport, as various stores and outdoor attractions open for the first time in nearly three months. - Sputnik International
Subscribe
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday that the government was deliberating on a recently widely-debated issue of whether to make face masks mandatory in shops and other confined public spaces and would deliver a statement in "the next few days."
"Yes, I think people should be wearing face coverings in shops, and in terms of how we do that and whether we make it mandatory, we will be looking at the guidance and we will be saying a little bit more in the next few days", Johnson said at a press stakeout during a visit to the London Ambulance Service headquarters.

Specifying the upcoming announcement, Johnson said the government would be looking at "exactly how and with what tools of enforcement we think we want to make progress."

According to the UK prime minister, as he acknowledged that the coronavirus pandemic began retreating, "face masks are an extra insurance that we all can use to stop it from coming back, stop it from getting out of control again."

Face mask - Sputnik International
Why Wearing Face Masks Shouldn't be Made Compulsory in the UK

In making the statement, Johnson cited "the growing scientific evaluation of face coverings and their importance in stopping aerosol droplets."

On 15 June, the UK government made wearing face masks on public transport mandatory. Throughout last week, conflicting statements were made by several cabinet officials on whether masks would also be made mandatory in other confined public spaces, such as shops.

During the first few months of the outbreak in the United Kingdom, various officials, Johnson included, claimed that face masks were of low usefulness in protecting people from contracting the coronavirus in public.

As of Monday, UK health authorities reported 289,603 lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases, including 44,819 related deaths.

Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала