Mayor calls for face coverings to be mandatory in shops

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has today made an urgent call for the Government to make the wearing of face coverings mandatory for customers in shops and other confined public spaces.

The Mayor has written to the Prime Minister urging him to extend the range of places where face coverings must be worn to help prevent the further spread of COVID-19.

In his letter, Sadiq said that the wide use of face coverings is increasingly important as lockdown restrictions are eased, with scientific evidence showing that they can help slow the spread of the coronavirus. He said that Londoners have already shown that they are willing to take action to help each other, with a high proportion of passengers wearing face coverings on public transport.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has updated its guidance to recommend the use of face coverings in a wide range of public settings, and a number of European countries, including Austria, France, Germany, Portugal and Spain, have already mandated their use in shops and other public spaces.

The Mayor continues to encourage all Londoners to wear a face covering wherever they can’t maintain social distancing, and this letter follows the Mayor’s successful lobbying of Government to make the use of face coverings mandatory on public transport and his calls for London’s supermarkets and other retailers to stock them.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “Thanks to the monumental efforts of Londoners we have significantly reduced the number of COVID-19 cases in the capital, but the virus is still out there and as restrictions are eased it is vital that we do not become complacent and that we all continue to do everything we can to prevent a devastating second wave.

“It is increasingly clear that face coverings will play a key role in our efforts to stop the further spread of the virus and they need to become a more regular part of our day-to-day life. The high level of use on our public transport network has again shown that Londoners are willing to act to protect their community, but the Government’s current rules are lagging behind other countries.

“With non-essential shops now opening and the public returning to our high streets, I urge the Government to follow WHO guidance and make these coverings mandatory for those shopping in retail outlets and in other spaces where it is impossible to keep a safe distance.”

ENDS