Michael Gove says face masks should not be made mandatory in England shops

Michael Gove has said that face coverings should not be made mandatory in shops in England, but that he would "encourage" people to wear them.

The Cabinet Office Minister said that, while the policy on mouth and nose coverings in public places was kept under review, he thought it was best to trust the public’s “common sense”.

His comments came as the Government faces further calls for clarity on its position on face masks.

Earlier this week, Prime Minister Boris Johnson signalled a shift in policy and said the Government was looking at introducing "stricter" rules on wearing face coverings in shops and other confined spaces in order to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

The move was cautiously welcomed by scientists. Face coverings are currently compulsory on public transport and in hospitals in England, and are now mandatory in shops in Scotland.

But when Mr Gove was asked about the rules on BBC One's The Andrew Marr Show, he said he did not believe that they should be made a requirement in shops.

“I don’t think mandatory, no," Mr Gove said.

Michael Gove said he would encourage people to wear face masks in shops in England
PA

He added: "But I would encourage people to wear face masks when they are inside, in an environment where they are likely to be mixing with others and where the ventilation may not be as good as it might.

“I think that it is basic good manners, courtesy and consideration, to wear a face mask if you are, for example, in a shop."

He added: “I trust people’s good sense. Now of course the Government at all times does look at the emerging evidence about what the best way to control the disease is.

“If necessary, and if tough measures are required and as we have seen in Leicester, obviously a very different situation, then tough measures will be taken.

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“But on the whole… it is always best to trust people’s common sense.”

Speaking earlier on Sky's Sophy Ridge on Sunday show, the Cabinet Office Minister acknowledged that wearing a face covering "definitely helps you to help others in enclosed space".

“Face masks are appropriate in some settings and not in others… wearing a face mask when you are out and about outdoors is significantly less necessary than when you are indoors," said Mr Gove.

The UK Government insisted early on in the pandemic that masks were not necessary for use by the general public when out and about.

But, during an online question and answer session with the public on Friday afternoon, Mr Johnson spoke about the role face coverings could play in preventing the spread of Covid-19.

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“As we get the numbers down in the way that we have and we really stamp out outbreaks in the way that we are, I do think we need to be stricter in insisting people wear face coverings in confined spaces where they are meeting people they don’t normally meet,” he said.

“We are looking at ways of making sure that people really do have face coverings in shops, for instance, where there is a risk of transmission.”

Labour’s shadow business minister said the party could support face coverings becoming mandatory in shops.

Speaking to Sophy Ridge , Lucy Powell said: “We do need to get a lot more confidence back in the system and if the mandatory wearing of face masks in shops will help to do that then we absolutely support it.

“We think the Government – instead of just showing a bit of leg occasionally on these things by briefing newspapers or saying things that are not clear guidance in press conferences as the Prime Minister did on Friday – (should) get some clarity.

“That’s really something that would get confidence back into the system and get people feeling that they can go to the shops, they can go to restaurants and go to bars.”

Eminent epidemiologist Professor David Heymann, of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, has said masks should be worn by “all people in a situation where no one can physically distance to prevent infection of others”

Dr Paul Hunter, professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia, also said the PM was “right” to be reviewing England’s position on face coverings.