Face masks may become a ‘personal choice’ in England, minister says

British minister Robert Jenrick said England will move into a period where there won’t be legal requirements for wearing face masks

PM Boris Johnson’s plans to ease Covid-19 restrictions have been scuppered by rising cases, driven by the more transmissible Delta variant

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Britain's Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick appears on BBC TV. He said England may soon abandon legal requirements for wearing masks. Photo: Reuters

Published: 9:54pm, 4 Jul 2021Updated: 10:05pm, 4 Jul 2021

The wearing of face coverings in England will become a personal choice and the data that will determine if lockdown restrictions can be lifted this month was looking “very positive”, Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick said on Sunday.

“It will be a different period where we as private citizens make these judgments rather than the government telling you what to do,” Jenrick told Sky News.

Legal lockdown restrictions are due to be removed on July 19 under the British government’s road map and Prime Minister Boris Johnson will set out details about the final stage of easing in England in the coming days, Jenrick said.

The Sunday Telegraph earlier reported that Johnson has signed off on a series of measures on how the country will live with coronavirus, including the removal of compulsory mask wearing.

Asked if he would stop wearing a face mask if permitted, Jenrick said: “I will. I don’t particularly want to wear a mask, I don’t think a lot of people enjoy doing it, we will be moving into a phase though where these will be matters of personal choice.”

Johnson had hoped to remove final restrictions in June but his plan was scuppered by rising coronavirus cases, driven largely by the more transmissible Delta variant. There were almost 25,000 new cases reported on Saturday, the sixth day in a row that new infections topped 20,000 – levels not seen since January.