Face coverings will be COMPULSORY on public transport in England from June 15

Face coverings are to be made compulsory on public transport from June 15 to help quell coronavirus, Grant Shapps announced tonight.

The Transport Secretary unveiled the news at the Downing Street briefing this evening, saying makeshift masks can play a part in reducing the spread. 

Mr Shapps said the ‘challenges’ for the network were ‘increasing’ as more people went back to work, and schools reopened. 

‘We are doing what many other countries have asked transport users to do,’ he said. ‘The evidence is that wearing face covering offers some, albeit limited protection.’

Mr Shapps said while the rules would be mandatory and ‘ultimately’ people could be fined, he did not believe they would need much enforcement. ‘Wearing a face covering helps protect others,’ he said. ‘Why wouldn’t people want to do the right thing? We are all desperate to get rid of coronavirus.’

He stressed that people should still only use public transport if they have to, urging them to drive, walk or cycle instead where possible. 

Unions welcomed the move, saying it would give workers and travellers more confidence amid desperate efforts to get the economy back on its feet. It comes after Nicola Sturgeon declared earlier that she is considering taking the same step in Scotland. 

Experts have been split on whether face coverings have a major impact, but SAGE concluded recently that they can be useful to stop people spreading the disease.

There have been concerns that the public could start rushing to buy clinical standard masks and leave the health service short of supplies. 

Mick Whelan, general secretary of Aslef, said: ‘This is a sensible step by the Secretary of State for Transport. We have been working closely with the government to ensure that agreed increases in services on Britain’s train, and Tube, network is done in a safe and controlled manner – to help spread the loading, and maintain social distancing – for the safety of passengers and staff. 

‘The instruction to wear face coverings to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus will ease the concerns of people travelling, and working, on the transport network.’ 

She told a briefing this afternoon: ‘Yes it is under consideration.’

‘I said when I announced the policy some weeks back that we would keep this under review, so we haven’t reached a final decision on this.

‘But I think it is fair to say that it is something we are considering and I think that is inevitable.

‘I understand why some people may not want to wear face coverings, it’s not the most comfortable thing to do.’

Ms Sturgeon said there was ‘some evidence’ that wearing a face covering in enclosed spaces, where physical distancing is more difficult, can protect other people if the wearer is infected.

‘I really want to strongly encourage people if you haven’t already been doing it, or if you have started to do it and found it uncomfortable and haven’t continued, please consider this very carefully.

‘We want to ensure we are doing everything we can to reduce the risks of transmission.’

Research on how well various types of masks and face coverings varies but, recently, and in light of the pandemic of COVID-19, experts are increasingly leaning toward the notion that something is better than nothing. 

A University of Oxford study published on March 30 concluded that surgical masks are just as effective at preventing respiratory infections as N95 masks for doctors, nurses and other health care workers. 

It’s too early for there to be reliable data on how well they prevent infection with COVID-19, but the study found the thinner, cheaper masks do work in flu outbreaks. 

The difference between surgical or face masks and N95 masks lies in the size of particles that can – and more importantly, can’t – get though the materials. 

N95 respirators are made of thick, tightly woven and molded material that fits tightly over the face and can stop 95 percent of all airborne particles, while surgical masks are thinner, fit more loosely, and more porous. 

This makes surgical masks much more comfortable to breathe and work in, but less effective at stopping small particles from entering your mouth and nose. 

Droplets of saliva and mucous from coughs and sneezes are very small, and viral particles themselves are particularly tiny – in fact, they’re about 20-times smaller than bacteria. 

For this reason, a JAMA study published this month still contended that people without symptoms should not wear surgical masks, because there is not proof the gear will protect them from infection – although they may keep people who are coughing and sneezing from infecting others. 

But the Oxford analysis of past studies- which has not yet been peer reviewed – found that surgical masks were worth wearing and didn’t provide statistically less protection than N95 for health care workers around flu patients. 

However, any face mask is only as good as other health and hygiene practices. Experts universally agree that there’s simply no replacement for thorough, frequent hand-washing for preventing disease transmission.