It is now compulsory to wear a face coveringwhen you visit a supermarket, indoor shopping centre, coffee shop, or bank in England.
This follows previous legislation that outlined that face coverings were to become compulsory on public transport from 15 June.
While some members of the public may welcome the new safeguarding measure amid the continued Covid-19 outbreak, others may not feel comfortable with the new rules, perhaps because they have breathing issues or disabilities that make wearing a face covering difficult.
Here is everything you need to know about the new rules and who is exempt from them.
What are the new rules for wearing face coverings?
It is compulsory for people to cover their faces while in shops in England, including supermarkets.
Members of the public are not required to wear medical masks, as ministers want to preserve these for frontline health staff.
While the new legislation follows in the footsteps of Scotland, where it has been mandatory to wear face coverings in shops since 10 July, it has sparked some confusion - not least around who is responsible for enforcing the rules.
The head of the British Chambers of Commerce urged the government on Tuesday to provide "absolute clarity" to retailers on the new rules.
Who is exempt from wearing face coverings?
Following the announcement that face coverings were to become mandatory on public transport in England, guidelines were released outlining individuals who were exempt from the rule.
These included children under the age of 11; people who cannot put on, wear or remove a face covering without experiencing “severe distress”; individuals with physical or mental disabilities who may have an issue with wearing a face coverings; people who communicate with others through lip-reading; those who are “travelling to avoid injury, or to escape a risk of harm, and do not have a face covering with them”; and individuals who need to remove their face coverings while taking medication.
When face coverings become obligatory in shops in England, similar rules will apply, with children under the age of 11, people with certain disabilities and individuals with breathing conditions not required to follow the regulation.
Do face coverings protect against Covid-19?
The World Health Organisation (WHO) states that the use of a face covering on its own ”is not sufficient to provide an adequate level of protection against Covid-19”.
“You should also maintain a minimum physical distance of at least one metre from others, frequently clean your hands and avoid touching your face and mask,” the WHO says.
Professor David Heymann, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, explained that the use of masks in non-medical settings are “only for the protection of others, not for the protection of oneself”.
On 21 April the government’s DELVE ( Data Evaluation and Learning for Viral Epidemics group) in the Royal Society, said: “Face masks offer an important tool for managing community transmission of Covid19 within the general population.
“Our analysis suggests that their use could reduce onward transmission by asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic wearers if widely used, contrasting to the standard use of masks for the protection of wearers. If used widely and correctly, face masks, including homemade cloth masks, can reduce viral transmission.”
On the government website, it agrees: “The evidence suggests that face coverings can help us protect each other and reduce the spread of the disease if someone is suffering from coronavirus, but not showing symptoms.”
