Coronavirus: U.K. urges public to use face masks, marking U-turn on previous advice

LONDON — The British government performed an about-face on masks Monday, telling people to cover their mouth and nose in shops, buses and subway trains. The change came as part of what Prime Minister Boris Johnson called the ”first careful measures” to lift a nationwide lockdown imposed seven weeks ago to slow the spread of the new coronavirus.

A 50-page government document outlining cautious steps to ease restrictions said “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.”

That is a recommendation rather than a rule, and people won’t be penalized if they don’t wear a mask.

The government outlined a three-stage approach to ending lockdown, beginning Wednesday with a relaxing of limits on outdoor activity. People in England may take unlimited amounts of exercise, rather than just one trip out a day, and may sit and sunbathe outdoors. Driving to a park or beach will be permitted, and golf courses and tennis courts can reopen.

If there is no new spike in infections, that will be followed in June by a return to class for some young school pupils, the reopening of nonessential shops and the return of televised sports, played behind closed doors. A third stage, penciled in for July at the soonest, would see the gradual reopening of restaurants, cafes, pubs, hairdressers and other businesses.

Johnson told lawmakers that “if the alert level begins to rise we will have no hesitation in putting on the brakes.”

While many people welcomed the prospect of an end to lockdown, police organizations warned that the new rules were fuzzy and made enforcement harder.

[ Sign up for our Health IQ newsletter for the latest coronavirus updates ]

There was confusion about the measures, which were announced by Johnson in a televised speech almost 24 hours before the details were published.

“What the country needs at this time is clarity and reassurance, and at the moment both are in pretty short supply,” said Keir Starmer, leader of the main opposition Labour Party.

After Johnson spoke, London Major Sadiq Khan issued a statement stressing that the lockdown had not been lifted and saying Londoners “must not use public transport for any unnecessary journeys.”

London’s Waterloo station, usually the country’s busiest train hub, remained largely quiet Monday morning but commuters venturing back to work said they worried that services would soon be thronged again.

Peter Osu, 45, who was returning to work at a construction site for the first time since the lockdown started, said he felt nervous.

“People were sitting close together on the (subway) and others were having to stand,” he said. “There was no 2-meter spacing. This is the first day. Can you imagine what it’s going to look like by the end of the week?”

The reopening plan has put Johnson’s U.K. government at odds with semi-autonomous authorities in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, who urged more caution and said they would not automatically adopt the measures Johnson has announced for England.

Johnson, who was hospitalized last month with a serious bout of COVID-19, also said that within weeks the U.K. would impose a 14-day quarantine on people arriving by air. Travelers from Ireland and France will be exempt.

Source: Read Full Article