A health minister has denied there could be confusion around the government’s stance on mask wearing after legal restrictions have been lifted.

Boris Johnson is expected to announce on Monday afternoon he push ahead with the next stage of unlocking in England on July 19.

The prime minister is due to use a press conference to confirm the legal requirement to wear masks will end.

But while the law will be scrapped, vaccination minister Nadhim Zahawi has said people will still be “expected” to wear masks in indoor enclosed spaces.

 

 

Edward Argar told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme today he is likely to continue to wear a covering when on a train or in a lift with other people, but not necessarily when outside with few people nearby.

“Train companies may well look at, as conditions of carriage, whether they want to impose additional guidance or additional restrictions,” he said.

“But at a governmental level, what we have set out, what we will be looking to do is see the legal requirements fall away but for guidance – strong guidance and cautious guidance – to be in place for people to exercise their common sense.”

He added: “I don’t think that the British people will struggle to look at the guidance and form their own common-sense judgment – I don’t think it will introduce confusion.

“I think people will look at it, they will form a sensible judgment based on the guidance.”

Dr Mike Tildesley, from the University of Warwick and a member of the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling (Spi-M) group, said there has been “mixed messaging” over face masks.

He told BBC Breakfast the UK was at a “really tricky phase” of the pandemic, with rising cases but “still very low numbers of deaths and very low numbers of hospital admissions, though they are creeping up a little bit”.

Professor Peter Openshaw, a member of the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (Nervtag), said it is vital to keep some protective measures in place, such as wearing face coverings.

“I really don’t see why people are reluctant to wear face coverings – it is quite clear that they do greatly reduce transmission,” he told Today.

Openshaw added that it is “more straightforward to try to get face masks used in dangerous situations if there is some kind of compulsion behind it”.

Downing Street has said the unlocking would be based on four tests – the success of the vaccine rollout, evidence that the vaccine is causing a reduction in hospital admissions and deaths, that infection rates do not risk a surge in admissions, and that no new variants of concern throw progress off track.

Johnson said ahead of his press conference: “We are tantalisingly close to the final milestone in our road map out of lockdown, but the plan to restore our freedoms must come with a warning.

“While the phenomenal vaccine rollout has offered every adult some protection against the virus, and the crucial link between cases, hospitalisations and deaths is weakened, the global pandemic is not over yet.

“Cases will rise as we unlock, so as we confirm our plans today, our message will be clear. Caution is absolutely vital, and we must all take responsibility so we don’t undo our progress, ensuring we continue to protect our NHS.”

Analysis from Public Health England (PHE) and the University of Cambridge suggests that vaccines have so far prevented an estimated 8.5 million infections and 30,000 deaths in England alone.