Face masks should be mandatory in offices and OUTSIDE to beat coronavirus, top doctor warns

FACE masks should made be compulsory outdoors and in offices to beat the coronavirus, a doctors’ leader has said

The British Medical Association is pressing for measures it says could reduce the level of Covid infection – while providing people with the confidence to go out safely and boost the economy.

⚠️ Read our coronavirus live blog for the latest news & updates

They include making the wearing of face masks mandatory in all offices and working environments, unless you are working alone – a move the government says it is “considering”.

The BMA also says those are over 60 or in a vulnerable groups should be given medical grade masks free of charge.

Dr Chaand Nagpaul – the BMA’s council chairman – : “It’s clear that most workplaces were never designed for people to work two metres apart.

“The rules should be absolutely that where you are likely to interact with one another within two metres, you wear a mask indoors.

“In some settings, you will inevitably be in a situation where you’re meeting or mixing with others within that distance.”

Dr Nagpaul criticised Robert Jenrick, the housing secretary, who said that compulsory masks in offices “will be taken into consideration”.

“You have got to more than consider – you have got to now act,” he said.

Masks are already compulsory on public transport, in railways stations airports and shops, and they must be worn in cafes, pubs, bars and restaurants before being seated. 

The BMA has also said people should be made to wear masks in all outdoor settings where social distancing is not possible.

Dr Nagpaul said he frequently saw people within two metres at bus stops or outside shops chatting to each other without masks.

The spread of infection was “not happening by magic, it is happening because people are close to each other”.

The government is preparing to unveil a new three-tiered system of coronavirus restrictions on Monday.

Dr Nagpaul said there is an opportunity for to bring in stronger measures to stop the NHS being paralysed this winter.

“We know that with the right public behaviour and renewed public confidence, the infection can be brought under control, given that we had less than 500 new cases a day in mid-July.

“We are having to swallow a very bitter pill of the infection continuing to spread at a perilous rate.

“Stronger measures brought in now could be a far sweeter pill in the long run for far more people.”

A spokeswoman for the Department of Health and Social Care said the Government’s measures have been guided by the advice of experts “at every stage” of the pandemic.

“We have been clear from the outset that public compliance with self-isolation rules and social distancing measures is absolutely crucial to preventing the spread of the virus.”

She added nearly 700,000 people “who may otherwise have unknowingly spread coronavirus” have been contacted via NHS Test and Trace and told to isolate.

Students have been seen arriving at covid-hit Bristol university in hazmat suits as 300 youngsters have been forced to self-isolate.