Labour has demanded the health secretary, Matt Hancock, make a statement to parliament explaining whether face coverings are set to become compulsory for shoppers in England, as scientists and retailers push for a change to government guidelines. While masks are mandatory on public transport, this is still not the case for shops, and there is a lack of clarity over whether this could soon change. On Friday, Boris Johnson hinted at imminent change, saying there was a need for a “stricter” approach. However, Michael Gove said on Sunday face coverings would not be mandatory and the public should use their common sense. The shadow health secretary, Jon Ashworth, is to request time for an urgent question from the Commons Speaker, Lindsay Hoyle. If granted then ministers must attend the Commons on Monday afternoon to explain the situation. “Ministers are in a complete muddle. On Friday, Boris Johnson gave everyone the impression they would be mandatory, only for Michael Gove to contradict him on Sunday,” said Ashworth. “Ministers need to come to the Commons on Monday and clear up this confusion. People just want to do the right thing to stay safe. Clear guidance from ministers shouldn’t be too much to ask for.” Asked about the issue on Monday, the justice secretary, Robert Buckland, said he was in the “mandatory perhaps” camp when it came to face coverings in shops. “Wearing them in an enclosed space where you’ve got lots of people, for example a busy shop, seems to be sensible. It’s all about increasing confidence,” he said. “I think the more of us that do the courteous and responsible thing, the more people you’ll see venturing out into shops.” For now, Buckland said, the government would merely be encouraging this. But he added: “If it becomes necessary to nudge people further, by taking further action, then of course we will consider that.”
Also speaking on Monday, the president of the Royal Society, Dr Venki Ramakrishnan, a member of the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), said the evidence was “now quite strongly in favour of using face coverings in enclosed spaces where we’re likely to come into contact with strangers”. “I think that the government should be very clear, it’s not consistent to make it mandatory in public transport and not make it mandatory in other enclosed and busy public spaces because the behaviour of the virus is the same in all of these spaces,” he told ITV’s Good Morning Britain. He added: “Scotland made it mandatory and it’s not been a problem in Scotland. People have, since last week, been going about their business, going shopping, it gives people confidence. James Daunt, the managing director of Waterstones book stores, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that mandatory mask use could help restore confidence among shoppers. “I don’t think it is a huge factor, but I also think if it reassures people, then it is a perfectly reasonable measure to take,” he said. “I think it becomes normalised, clearly, when people start using public transport.” Scotland has already made face masks mandatory in shops. In England, masks have been required on public transport since 12 June. Johnson said in an online question and answer session with the public on Friday that he was looking at ways of “making sure that people really do have face coverings in shops, for instance, where there is a risk of transmission”. But Gove described the decision to wear a mask as “good manners” rather than a public health necessity.
Asked whether face coverings would become mandatory, Gove said: “I don’t think mandatory, no, but I would encourage people to wear a face mask, where they are inside, in an environment where they are likely to be mixing with others and the ventilation may not be as good as it might. “It is basic good manners, courtesy and consideration to wear a face mask if, for example, you’re in a shop.”
It was understood that Johnson was due to make a further announcement on the topic this week, but sources at No 10 suggested this was unlikely to happen.