Government clarifies mask rules after face coverings seen on Tube
UKHSA asks anyone who feels ill to consider wearing a mask but Wes Streeting has stopped short of making it government policy
Wes Streeting has said that wearing masks is not mandatory for now, but the health secretary has not ruled out a return to covid-esque rules as flu cases rise.
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Hospitals across England have been placed on “high alert” this week after an average of 3,140 flu patients were in hospital each day last week, up from 2,660 the previous week.
Several NHS trusts have this week made it mandatory for masks to be worn in hospitals, while the covid-era face coverings have also been spotted on public transport.
Mr Streeting is wary of the impact of the flu amid a widespread NHS doctor strike but has said that there are not any plans for a mask requirement for now.
“The time has not yet come for everyone to wear masks,” he told the Telegraph.
“But what we are absolutely supporting frontline leaders to do is to determine whether, given the pressures they are under, it is the right thing to do to ask visitors to hospitals and other care settings to wear a mask to protect themselves and others.”
The UK Health Security Agency last week encouraged anybody who felt ill to consider wearing a mask in public.
Meanwhile, the Royal Berkshire NHS Trust, which runs the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading, asked all visitors to wear a mask, as has Medway Maritime Hospital.
Transport networks have not asked passengers to wear masks, but their sighting has been more frequent on trains and buses in recent weeks.
Mr Streeting added: “There will be places [where masks are being worn], it will be done in an informed way on the basis of the conditions they are operating under, and most people will happily comply with that.
“But at this stage there is no need to mandate mask wearing or ask everyone around the country to do the same.”