Brits told to use face coverings in ‘enclosed public areas’ as Boris Johnson fleshes out lockdown easing plan
6 min read
The public is being advised to use face coverings “in enclosed public areas” from this week as part of the Government’s plan to gradually lift the coronavirus lockdown.
New guidance, contained in a 60-page, three-step plan for lifting the coronavirus lockdown unveiled by Boris Johnson on Monday, says people should now use face coverings “on public transport or in some shops” in a bid to protect others from the disease.
The document, which comes in the wake of the Prime Minister’s speech to the nation on Sunday night says the Government’s “overriding priority” is to “save lives”.
But it says ministers will aim to “return life to as close as normal as possible, for as many people as possible, as fast and fairly as possible”, and sets out a range of steps to slowly ease the lockdown that has been in force since late March over the coming months.
And, promising new safety guidance “this week” on how Brits may be able to return to work, the document says: “As more people return to work, there will be more movement outside people's immediate household.
“This increased mobility means the Government is now advising that people should aim to wear a face-covering in enclosed spaces where social distancing is not always possible and they come into contact with others that they do not normally meet, for example on public transport or in some shops.
“Homemade cloth face-coverings can help reduce the risk of transmission in some circumstances. Face-coverings are not intended to help the wearer, but to protect against inadvertent transmission of the disease to others if you have it asymptomatically.”
'MODEST EFFECT'
The Government has confirmed that the new guidance on face coverings is not mandatory, with no fines or punishment levied for those who do not cover up.
But Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty said the Government’s Sage scientific committee said there limited evidence of a “modest effect in terms of someone protecting someone else” in using face coverings.
“If you can use a face covering that may reduce probability of transmitting onwards,” he said.
“Therefore what we’re recommending is that people use a face overing with covers their nose and mouth in a situation where, for a short period, they have intense or potentially close contact which they cannot avoid... in an enclosed space, so that might be public transport, it might be for example going into a shop which is unable to achieve social distancing.”
Professor Whitty said such coverings could include scarves, a “home-made cotton covering”, and face coverings bought in stores or online.
But the Government is stressing that Brits should not use “the surgical masks or respirators used as part of personal protective equipment by healthcare and other workers” - and says these supplies should “continue to be reserved for those who need it”.
WEDNESDAY CHANGES
The new guidance on face coverings came as the Government confirmed that a string of limited changes to existing lockdown measures will apply from this Wednesday.
All workers “who cannot work from home” are being told to “travel to work if their workplace is open” from the middle of this week.
“Sectors of the economy that are allowed to be open should be open, for example this includes food production, constructions, manufacturing, logistics, distribution and scientific research in laboratories,” the guidance says.
“The only exceptions to this are those workplaces such as hospitality and non-essential retail which during this first step the Government is requiring to remain closed.”
A host of changes are also being introduced to the Government’s rules on public spaces, with people now able to spend more time outdoors so long as they do not meet up with “any more than one person from outside your household”.
It adds: “People may exercise outside as many times each day as they wish. For example, this would include angling and tennis.”
People will meanwhile be permitted to drive to outdoor open spaces “irrespective of distance” - but in all cases Brits are told to continue to “respect social distancing guidance”, including the two-metre rule.
The Government has confirmed that overnight stays and trips to holiday homes will continue to be banned under the rules.
On travel, the Government says it is working with public transport providers “to bring services back towards Covid-19 levels as quickly as possible”.
But people, including critical workers, are advised to avoid public transport “wherever possible”, with the Government urging people to instead walk or cycle to their places of work.
JUNE 1 CHANGES
Ministers have meanwhile pencilled in a “second step” in for lifting some further measures “no earlier” than June 1.
Schools are being told to “prepare accordingly” for a “phrase return” of reception, year 1 and year six from that date, but the Government says the infection rate “remains too high” to allow institutions to reopen for all pupils just yet.
However, it does say there is a “large societal benefit from vulnerable children, or the children of critical workers, attending school”, and councils and schools are told to “urge more children who would benefit from attending in person to do so”.
“Non-essential” retail will also be opened in early June “when and where it is safe to do so”, the document makes clear, with the Government promising “further guidance shortly on the approach that will be taken to phasing, including which businesses will be covered in each phase and the timeframes involved“.
But it makes clear that hospitality and personal care organisations, including hairdresses, will not be able to re-open “at this point because the risk of transmission in these environments is higher”.
STEP THREE CHANGES
In its third step, the Government promises that further easing of the measures will come “no earlier than 4 July”.
This will, it says, see “at least some of the remaining businesses and premises”, including beauty salons, publics, hotels, places of worship and cinemas permitted to reopen - if they meet the Government’s back-to-work guidelines.
But it makes clear: “Some venues which are, by design, crowded and where it may prove difficult to enact distancing may still not be able to re-open safely at this point, or may be able to open safely only in part.”
PRINCIPLES
The 60-page plan also sets out the broader principles ministers say will guide their "phase" approach to lifting the lockdown.
Britain is, it says, now entering “phase two” of the pandemic where it will try to “enact measures that have the largest effect on controlling the epidemic but the lowest health, economic and social costs”.
A third phase will only come, the Government says, when there is a “reliable treatment” for Covid-19.
And it warns: “Eradication of the virus from the UK (and globally) is very unlikely.
“But rolling out effective treatments and/or a vaccine will allow us to move to phase where the effect of the virus can be reduced to manageable levels.”
Launching the plan, Boris Johnson said: “I must ask the country to be patient with a continued disruption to our normal way of life, but to be relentless in pursuing our mission to build the systems we need. The worst possible outcome would be a return to the virus being out of control – with the cost to human life, and – through the inevitable re-imposition of severe restrictions – the cost to the economy.
“We must stay alert, control the virus, and in doing so, save lives.”
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