Covid restrictions are being stepped up in parliament, with MPs told to wear masks, tours of the building cancelled and some staff told to work from home. The move came after the UK Health Security Agency warned the risk of the virus transmitting between those who work in the Palace of Westminster had become “greater”. Social distancing has also been encouraged again “as far as possible” around the Commons, with committee rooms identified as one of the key areas where the virus is spreading. Non-parliamentary business such as banquets and receptions have also been cancelled for the next two weeks. New guidance issued on Tuesday stated that officials who “do not need to be on the estate are advised to work remotely”. It added that face-to-face meetings should be avoided as much as possible. Although the contingency measures to guard against further infections in parliament have been activated, the law as it applies to England remains that there is no requirement for people to follow social distancing or wear masks. While people have been advised to wear face coverings in crowded rooms for months, cabinet ministers and most Tory MPs continued to sit shoulder-to-shoulder in the Commons chamber maskless. That changed last week, when the prime minister, Boris Johnson, and other Conservatives wore a face covering during the budget, though three did not – including the Commons leader, Jacob Rees-Mogg. The Labour MP Ben Bradshaw hit out at those MPs continuing not to wear a mask. He tweeted: “You get chucked out of parliament for not wearing a jacket and tie. If you won’t wear a mask – a recommended public health measure to protect others – nothing. What an antediluvian Alice in Wonderland this remains.”
The Speaker, Lindsay Hoyle, urged MPs to do the “right thing”. He said: “If we can get through these two weeks, I believe we’re then through to next year … numbers have been rising on both sides of the House and within staff. Unusually, the transmission has been on the estate – and that’s why it’s a greater worry than we’ve had before.” However, the Tory MP Karl McCartney, praised an “excellent speech … about the usefulness of masks” by the the peer Viscount Ridley, who said last week that preventing aerosol transmission of Covid with masks was “like catching midges with a tennis net”. Another senior Conservative backbencher told the Guardian they were concerned that telling MPs to wear masks in parliament would create “the perception that there is one rule for us and another for everyone else”.