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Hilary Clarke

The UK government has resisted calls to make it compulsory for people to wear face masks in some public situations after another 616 people died in hospital from the novel coronavirus.
The latest death count – recorded in the 24 hours on Wednesday – was lower than the 759 from the previous day.
It takes Britain’s hospital death toll to 18,738, according to the health ministry, but thousands more were believed to have died from Covid-19 in care homes and at home.
The UK has the fifth highest national death toll from the pandemic that’s linked to at least 187,000 deaths worldwide.


Speaking at a daily press conference Thursday, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the government was receiving scientific advice about the public use of face masks.
“We follow the science, throughout this, building on that science, and the science develops as we learn more about the virus,” he said in a reply to a question if the government would recommend the use of masks for people outside.
“As for making sure that we are ready for any changes in the science, many countries have been buying face masks as have we, and the position on face masks is unchanged. Of course, the science on that is being reviewed and we’ll consider updated scientific advice as and when we need to.”
UK ministers defend PM’s coronavirus response after damning report
The UK government has come under fire for its response to the outbreak, including its delay to shut schools and lock down the country. It has also faced questions about the short supply of face masks and other personal protective equipment for frontline medical and care workers.
Hancock’s vague comments came after Germany, the EU’s largest economy, became the latest European country to make wearing a mask in public compulsory in some situations.
In France, people are already required to in public in most prefectures, and there are rules in parts of hard-hit Italy as well. Belgium, Poland, Slovakia, and Spain are also calling on people to wear masks. The Czech Republic, whose early insistence on face coverings, and encouraging people to make their own masks, could be one reason the pandemic has taken so few lives there.


Earlier this month, the World Health Organisation reversed course to support government initiatives that require or encourage the public wearing of masks. The WHO has said that masks could prevent people passing the virus to others, though they cannot stop the wearers from catching it.
Health experts says that washing hands and effective social distancing can reduce the risk of a person getting infected.
The UK government is reported to be considering the advice on masks from the 100-person strong Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), which was said to be divided over the matter. The names of the people who sit on SAGE are not known to the public.
Coronavirus can stay on face masks for up to a week, study finds
London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who is in charge of the capital’s crowded transport network, has repeatedly asked the government to make the wearing of masks on the tube and buses mandatory. He said London is now one of the last major cities in the world, including New York and Los Angeles, yet to recommend people wear masks.
“I am increasingly concerned that the UK is now an international outlier,” he said. “That is why I am calling on the government to change the guidance around people wearing non-medical face coverings on public transport and other places where they can’t socially distance.”

Meanwhile, slowly, Londoners are taking precautions themselves.
“It’s a good idea to wear them to keep each other safe” said former firefighter Garry Burns, 62. “You can’t always socially distance, can you? You can be in the supermarket and people just walk near you like you weren’t there.”

“Some reasons I wear a mask in public, beyond the obvious stuff,” tweeted actor Stephen McCann, who plays a doctor in the popular TV series Call The Midwife and is an award-winning science communicator. “1. Behaviour and habit. I wear a mask because it reminds me not to touch my face, which I do a lot. It works. 2. Psychology. My mask puts me into the mindset for distancing caution. It signals the same to others.”
With over a third of UK doctors and medical staff still not having enough protective clothing, according to a survey this week by the British Medical Association, the government is concerned that if people wear medical masks, the supply chain could be stripped of scarce resources.
Why UK’s coronavirus death toll is likely much higher than official tally
In federal Germany, new rules to force face coverings come into force in most states on Monday. Where they are required to be worn, and what happens if you don’t, differs from state to state.
While wearing them on public transport will be obligatory in all 16 states, in liberal Berlin they do not have to be worn in shops.


In the northern state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania there will be a €25 (US$27) fine for anyone caught without facial covering on public transport.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, currently recovering from a bout of the disease that caused him to spend three nights in intensive care, plans to return to work as early as Monday, The Telegraph reported.
His ministers, who have been struggling to explain high death rates, are working to roll out a mass testing and tracking programme to try to reduce the rate of transmission and possibly ease stringent measures that have all but shut the economy.
Additional reporting by Reuters


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Coronavirus pandemic

‘We follow the science’: UK government resists public face mask rules in coronavirus battle

Pedestrians walk past an artwork depicting a nurse wearing a face mask in East London. Photo: EPA

Retired firefighter Garry Burns in Stepney Green London, wears a facemask to protected himsef and others from the new coronavirus. Photo: Hilary Clarke

A passenger wearing a mask is seen on a bus in Central London, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues, London, Britain, April 17, 2020. REUTERS/Toby Melville

Why UK’s coronavirus death toll is likely much higher than official tally

Luthfa Hood whose father, Jamshad Ali, recently passed away from Covid-19. Photo: Reuters

Jamshad Ali, an 87-year-old retired tailor who moved to London from Bangladesh in 1962, died in a care home from coronavirus. Photo: Handout Mr Ali, who had worked for Burberry, died in the Royal London Hospital on 24 March after contracting Covid-19, a week after being discharged from hospital for a chest infection.

General view of a temporary mortuary in Wanstead Flats as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues, London, Britain, April 14, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay

Coronavirus: Canada says 1 million K95 masks from China unfit for Covid-19 fight

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks at a Covid-19 news conference in Ottawa in March. Photo: AFP

Coronavirus can stay on face masks for up to a week, study finds

The coronavirus can adhere to stainless steel services for up to seven days, according to a new study, but it can also be obliterated with a splash of disinfectant. Photo: Shutterstock

A shopper stocks up on sanitary products at the Taste supermarket in Wan Chai, amidst the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak. 05FEB20 SCMP / Nora Tam

Professor Leo Poon Lit-man, from University of Hong Kong's (HKU) School of Public Health, poses for a portrait in Pok Fu Lam during an interview regarding the 15th anniversary of SARS. 07MAR18 SCMP / Winson Wong

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Face masks for health workers reportedly in short supply
UK has the fifth highest national death toll in the world



Boris Johnson’s government has resisted calls to make it compulsory for people to wear a mask in some public situations.


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Britain

Boris Johnson

‘We follow the science’: UK government resists public face mask rules in coronavirus battle

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;} Face masks for health workers reportedly in short supply UK has the fifth highest national death toll in the world

Face masks for health workers reportedly in short supply

UK has the fifth highest national death toll in the world