The government is asking transport operators to introduce face coverings as a requirement for travel from 15 June, to coincide with the next stage of easing restrictions.
Passengers travelling by bus, coach, train, tram, ferry and aircrafts will need to wear a face covering on their journey to reduce the risk of transmission.
Ministers are bringing in the policy due to concerns about the difficulties of physical distancing on crowded public transport. The guidance remains to work from home or walk, cycle or drive to work, but for some people this may not be an option.
Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, said: “As of Monday 15 June, face coverings will become mandatory on public transport. That doesn’t mean surgical masks, which we must keep for clinical settings, it means the kind of face covering you can easily make at home.”
“The evidence suggests that wearing face coverings offers some, albeit limited, protection, against the spread of the virus.”
Last month, the government set out advice for people on how to make their own face coverings easily at home, using scarves or other textile items. These should cover the mouth and nose while allowing the wearer to breathe comfortably and can be as simple as a scarf or bandana that ties behind the head to give a snug fit.
People should wash their hands or use hand sanitiser before putting their face covering on and after taking it off. It’s also important that people don’t touch their face covering when wearing it, where possible, to avoid hand to mask transmission of the virus.
However, face coverings will not be mandatory for people entering shops. This is because people can more easily go outside if social distancing is not possible and shop owners can place limits on the number of customers allowed inside at any one time.
The rule change coincides with the planned reopening of non-essential retail and return of some secondary school pupils in England from 15 June, which Mr Shapps said would put “more pressure” on the public transport network.
The British Medical Association (BMA), however, has questioned why the government was waiting until mid-June to bring in the new measure, saying the risk of the virus would be “much less” if it was brought in straight away.
The doctors’ union also said it would like to see compulsory face coverings in other areas of public life, where social distancing was not possible, and suggested the government should supply the public with face coverings.
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