Face masks should have been made mandatory weeks ago | Annie Lewis

Wearing a face covering in shops and supermarkets is finally going to be made mandatory from July 24, which is, at the time of writing, 10 days away.
Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson, wearing a face mask due to the COVID-19 pandemic, talks with a paramedic as he visits the headquarters of the London Ambulance Service NHS Trust on July 13, 2020 in London, England. (Photo by Ben Stansall-WPA Pool/Getty Images)Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson, wearing a face mask due to the COVID-19 pandemic, talks with a paramedic as he visits the headquarters of the London Ambulance Service NHS Trust on July 13, 2020 in London, England. (Photo by Ben Stansall-WPA Pool/Getty Images)
Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson, wearing a face mask due to the COVID-19 pandemic, talks with a paramedic as he visits the headquarters of the London Ambulance Service NHS Trust on July 13, 2020 in London, England. (Photo by Ben Stansall-WPA Pool/Getty Images)

After the past couple of days – dubbed the ‘weekend of confusion’ by many – the amount of U-turns our government has made is becoming laughable.

On Friday, our Prime Minister Boris Johnson told us we need to be stricter on wearing face masks. Forty-eight hours later, Michael Gove states face masks won’t be mandatory in shops.

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However on Tuesday, as many people waltzed through their local high street and supermarket aisles without face coverings, Matt Hancock announced they will, in fact, be compulsory.

I know what you’re going to say. No one has experienced a pandemic on this scale before so it’s hard for the government to know what is right and what is wrong. But is it?

Scotland seems to have been right on the money when it comes to face masks. Is Scotland reading secret advice, which is unavailable to our cabinet, when it comes to face coverings? Weirdly enough, I doubt it.

A No10 spokesperson said ‘there is growing evidence that wearing a face covering in an enclosed space helps protect individuals and those around them from coronavirus’.

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Where has this ‘growing evidence’ sprung from? Or has this evidence been plain and clear since the beginning?

What really bothers me is this new piece of advice will not become compulsory until July 24. If there is ‘growing evidence’ that it needs to become mandatory, why not implement it straight away?

I’m sure the general public do not need 10 days to process the fact they will need to wear a face mask. In fact, a lot of people were two steps ahead of the government and decided to wear one anyway.

But during a period when we need strong leadership and clear advice because lives are at stake, I sigh in disbelief again as our government seems incapable to make a decision and then stick to it.

I want the virus to disappear but hand sanitiser can stay

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When I think back to life pre-Covid, one thing that has now changed for the better is the abundance of hand sanitisers.

Walking down the high street and seeing sanitiser stations at every shop door not only puts my mind at ease. But it also makes me think, why did we never do this before?

Before there was the threat of catching a potentially-deadly virus, I can’t help but think general cleanliness must have been at an all time low. Think about how many handles, doors, objects you touch everyday – and each one has your germs on it.

Even though I wish the virus to disappear as quickly as possible, the profusion of hand sanitisers can stay forever.

The travel industry must regain trust from the public

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I read on Twitter a Gatwick boss stated that it was going to take nearly three years for flying numbers to get back to where they were in 2019.

As travel restrictions ease, many have hopped on planes, taken advantage of the cheap flights and donned face masks for more than two hours (in some cases) to bask in sunnier climes. But there are still thousands of us not willing to dip our toes into the world of overseas travel just yet.

The travel industry has a tough few months ahead of them to regain the confidence and trust of the general public. There’s no denying things have changed, potentially for a very long time, when it comes to holidays.