Get the latest on coronavirus. Sign up to the Daily Brief for news, explainers, how-tos, opinion and more.

Many public transport users are not wearing face masks and coverings correctly, an expert has warned.

Professor Susan Michie, a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies’ (Sage) subgroup on behavioural science, said many commuters in England are not aware of how to correctly cover their face and are unknowingly putting themselves and those around them at risk.

Some people appeared to be wearing their face coverings below the nose, instead of over “your mouth and nose while allowing you to breathe comfortably”, as the government advises. 

“Do not touch the front of the face covering, or the part of the face covering that has been in contact with your mouth and nose. Once removed, make sure you clean any surfaces the face covering has touched,” it continues.

People are now required by law to wear face coverings when travelling on public transport in England – and those without one face a £100 fine and not being able to travel onboard.

Prof Michie said a national campaign might be needed to “train” people on how to wear their face coverings correctly.

She said many people appear to be wearing their face coverings below the nose and holding the front of items to remove them, rather than using the straps behind the head.

“Any time one goes out and around in parks and down the street this is the sort of thing you see,” she told The Sunday Telegraph.

She added: “I think the main thing is that where you have a behaviour that requires some kind of skill, and some kind of routine and procedure to make it effective, then usually it’s not enough to say do this, ie transmit knowledge, but we also need to have training.

“If it’s a question of skills, ie the behaviour surrounding the putting on, off and wearing of (face coverings), then it does require skills training.”

Here’s a reminder of everything you need to know about face masks.