Wearing face masks must not give us a false sense of security - Catherine Scott

Apparently the all-important science that we have been following for the last four months has changed – although I am not entirely sure
that it has. It seems to me that throughout the pandemic scientists have been divided about the effectiveness of wearing a face covering in abating the spread of coronavirus.

While the Government made it mandatory to wear a face covering on public transport in England from June 15, they had been reluctant to extend this to shops. Instead they wanted to rely on people’s common sense and advised people to wear a face covering if they were out in public and couldn’t socially distance.

However, it left them open to accusations that they were not giving out a clear message and it seems that unless we are told to do something, we are incapable as a society of doing it.

So from a week on Friday it will be compulsory to wear a face covering in all shops, or risk a £100 fine.

But making the directive doesn’t seem to have cleared things up.

What does face covering actually mean? Can you pull your jumper up over your mouth and nose, or a scarf that can easily be left somewhere, therefore potentially spreading the virus further. Who will police it and give out the fines?

There is also the danger that people will think that by wearing a mask they are protected from the virus – they are not.

Masks just help to reduce the risk of you spreading the virus to others if you have it. It does not protect you if you don’t and therefore you still need to wash your hands and socially distance as much as you can.

People also need to know how to wear masks properly. There is no point wearing a reusable mask and not washing it regularly.

You also need to know how to put it on and take it off properly so as to minimise any possible contact with the virus and indeed spreading it.

It sounds like a simple task, to just wear a face covering, yet when you are dealing with a virus of this nature it is not.

Unlike some people who are already moaning about masks being uncomfortable or making their glasses steam up, I have nothing against wearing masks. If doctors, nurses and carers can wear them for up to 13 hours a day I can wear one to go to the supermarket.

My concern is the need for public information to make the wearing of masks meaningful. While it may encourage people back to the high street – and so help our beleaguered economy – it is clearly not a quick fix and must be done with caution.