By Ben Kerrigan-
Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer is calling for face coverings on public transport to remain mandatory. to remain mandatory on public transport.
He said: “To throw off all protections at the same time when the infection rate is still going up is reckless.
“We need a balanced approach, we need to keep key protections in place, including masks, including ventilation and crucially… proper payments to those who need to self-isolate.”
Dr Chaand Nagpaul of the British Medical Association said it was “increasingly concerning” for Mr Johnson to “decide to go full steam” on easing measures – despite warnings over rising hospital cases and deaths.
Nagpul is calling for ministers to ensure the wearing of masks is compulsory “until the rampant spread of infection has been brought under control and more of the population are fully vaccinated”.
However, Boris Johnson has began arrangements for unlocking society, in a rapid bid to return society to normal after nearly two years of restrictions. The government has indicated it will keep an eye on developments, but also said this stage is irreversible.
A concrete decision in relation to the final stage of the roadmap for ending lockdown measures on 19 July will be taken next Monday. People in England will be encouraged to use their personal judgement on the risks of infection on a daily basis, while advising them of the advantages of wearing masks. The mask you were protects others and the mass others wear protect you, but you mas doesn’t protect you from the infected masked individual whom your mass protects.
London mayor Sadiq Khan has been a big advocate of mask wearing and lockdowns throughout the pandemic. He alls For said further discussions would be held between the capital’s transport bosses and the government, as he pointedly posted on Twitter: “My mask protects you, your mask protects me.
“The wearing of face coverings on public transport helps reduce the spread of COVID, and crucially gives Londoners confidence to travel – which is vital to our economic recovery.”
Speaking at the Downing Street briefing yesterday, Mr Johnson also warned a further delay to ending lockdown measures would “run the risk of either opening up at a very difficult time when the virus has an edge” or “putting everything off to next year”.
The prime minister added: “We must be honest with ourselves that if we can’t reopen our society in the next few weeks, when we will be helped by the arrival of summer and by the school holidays, then we must ask ourselves: when will we be able to return to normal?”
Johnson’s words is good news to all those against lockdown measures who have been battling to regain their freedom for over a year.
Education Secretary, Gavin Williamson is also expected to set out his plans for schools.
A Cabinet Office paper published yesterday said: “Early years settings, schools or colleges will not be required to routinely carry out contact tracing, which will help to minimize the number of children isolating.
“Contact tracing in specific educational settings would only be triggered if deemed necessary in response to a local outbreak.”
Ministers also intend to exempt under-18s who are deemed to be close contacts of an infected person from the requirement to self-isolate, although these changes “are likely to come into effect later in the summer”.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid is also expected to update MPs on further changes to contract tracing later today, and plans to ensure that fully vaccinated Britons no longer need to self-isolate in the event they contract the virus.