Face Masks will be a “personal choice”, according to a senior UK minister. This was in conjunction with further relaxation of coronavirus limitations, the minister stated Sunday.
Sky News’ Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick said: “I don’t really want to wear a face mask. I don’t think that a lot of people like it.
Jenrick said, “We will be entering a phase where these will matter to personal choice and so some people will want to do it for perfectly legitimate reasons. But it will be a different time where we, as private citizens, will make these decisions rather than the government telling us what to do.”
The UK government is considering lifting all social contact restrictions that were in place on July 19. Sajid Javid, the new Health Secretary of the UK government, has indicated that he would like coronavirus restrictions to be eased.
Javid said that “We are on target for July 19” and that he had to be open with people about the fact Covid cannot be eliminated in an article he wrote for the Mail on Sunday newspaper.
“We must also be clear that the number of cases will rise substantially. Many people will be cautious about the easement of restrictions. That’s understandable. We must be open-minded and take a balanced look at the possibilities. As with the flu, we will have to accept Covid’s existence and find ways to deal with it.
Javid stated that the “rules we have had to place have caused an alarming rise in domestic violence and a terrible effect on so many people’s mental health.”
Jenrick said that Boris Johnson, Prime Minister of England, is reviewing “very positive data” in preparation for his decision regarding the next step on England’s coronavirus roadmap.
He said, “It seems as if it is possible to now move forward and move towards a much more permissive system where we move away many of the restrictions that have been so hard for us.”
Although the UK was initially criticized for not being quick to secure the outbreak and for requiring mask wear at the beginning of the pandemic it has been praised for its Covid-19 vaccination rollout.
The British Medical Association (BMA), a doctors’ union, has asked the government to maintain some Covid-safe measures after July 19, England in response to an increase in cases.
The BMA released a press release Saturday saying that “weekly cases in England have risen 74% over the previous seven days while the number of people admitted in hospitals in England with Covid-19 grew by 55% over last week.”
The union demanded that all members of Covid wear masks in enclosed public spaces such as shops, public transport, and other public places.
“We have made great progress in both the vaccination campaign as well as individual action by people throughout the country over 18 months. The Government must not discard this at this crucial juncture,” said Dr. Chaand Nagpaul (BMA council chair).
“While the vaccination program is moving at a rapid pace, a large proportion of people remain unvaccinated or only partially vaccinated. This includes those who are unable to receive the jab, and the few for whom immunization will not be effective.
“Nor will all those who were vaccinated before 19 July be adequately protected, as it takes approximately two weeks for the second dose of vaccine to confer maximum immunity. Nagpaul said that we still have a long way to go in protecting the entire population against this deadly illness.
When asked about the BMA’s call for a mandate on masks to be kept, Stephen Powis, National Medical Director of NHS England, stated that he did not want to speculate ahead of any announcement by the government.
He said, “I think some people will choose not to be as cautious, some people might choose to wear masks in certain circumstances in crowded areas, and that’s okay… those habits to reduce infection are good to keep.”
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