Public lacking clear government guidance on face coverings

The British Medical Association has warned that current government measures and guidance on face covering rules in England are unclear, inconsistent and are causing widespread confusion.

The doctors’ union says that the government is not yet being clear on what coverings to wear or where they should be worn, following ‘mixed messages’ around whether the public should be wearing face coverings in takeaway food shops.

It is vital, the BMA says, to emphasise that the primary purpose of wearing a face covering is to prevent droplets leaving the mouth or nose of someone who may be carrying and therefore potentially transmitting the virus to others, but who has no or minimal symptoms. It is therefore not a protective strategy for the individual, but one for the population as a whole.

Dr Peter English, BMA public health medicine committee chair, said: “Everyone has their part to play in preventing the spread of this deadly virus, but people can only be expected to behave appropriately if they’ve been given clear, consistent guidance. So far, this has been lacking.

“First, we were told they were mandatory on public transport, but nowhere else. Then, shops but not other workplaces – and not for another week. And now, there is confusion around whether a takeaway is a shop or a restaurant – despite the fact that the virus is equally as infectious in either setting. Meanwhile, the government advises using ineffective visors, and its own ministers are pictured wearing inappropriate masks or no coverings at all.

“The BMA is clear that face coverings should be worn in all situations where physical distancing is not possible, and the government should equally be pressing this point home. Instead they are dragging their feet with sporadic and illogical policy announcements. The public needs clear, consistent measures, backed up with simple, easy-to-follow instructions. Without these, the virus will continue to spread, and we risk losing many, many more lives as a result.”