How long before Johnson’s “should” wear masks become a legal requirement?
Govey is taking a different view
The growing big political issue in relation to controlling the pandemic is whether or not people should be required to wear masks. What is interesting is there appears to be a difference in opinion between Johnson and senior cabinet minister Michael Gove who told the BBC yesterday that face coverings should not be mandatory.
The big difference between Johnson and Gove, of course, is that the former has actually been through the turmoil and agony of contracting the disease and he still appears not to have fully recovered.
Inevitably this apparent clash at the top of government means there is a lack of clarity on the issue which opens it up to attack.
All this is not helped by there being different rules in force on mask wearing in the four parts of the UK. Face coverings are compulsory on public transport in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland – while the Welsh government says it will enforce the same measure from 27 July. North of the border coverings are also mandatory in shops.
One thing that we all recall is what was said about the subject at the start of lockdown when doubts were raised about their effectiveness of face coverings. That has now moved on and there is much more agreement on the issue.