Ministers Will Ditch Their Masks ‘as Soon as Possible’

LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 26: Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak leaves 11 Do
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Victoria Friedman

A senior minister has said he will stop wearing a mask “as soon as possible”, in remarks likely signalling the Cabinet’s confidence that all lockdown restrictions will be lifted on July 19th.

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a delay to the end of all legal coronavirus restrictions from June 21st to July 19th amidst concerns over the Indian strain of the Chinese virus.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak, the second-highest ranking minister in the British government, was asked whether he would stop wearing a face-covering as soon as it was no longer a legal requirement, responding in remarks reported by The Telegraph: “Yes, as soon as possible.

“Things are looking good for July 19, as the Prime Minister said, and my strong expectation is we can lift these major restrictions then and get back to normal.”

Mr Sunak was the second minister to announce he would be ditching the mask after similar remarks from Environment Secretary George Eustace on Thursday.

Eustace told Sky News on Thursday that he “wouldn’t” be wearing the mask if there were no longer a legal compulsion to do so, adding: “To be honest, once I’m told that it’s safe not to, I want to get back to normal. I think a lot of people will want to shed those masks.”

Mr Eustace also confirmed that as far as ministers were concerned, there will not be a “legal compulsion” to wear masks after Stage 4 of lifting restrictions next month.

“Whether there will still be some people who might choose to wear masks or whether it may be advisory in some settings, that’s a separate matter. But the objective of that final stage is to remove the legal requirement to do these things,” the environment secretary added.

It is currently law that Britons must wear masks in enclosed public settings such as supermarkets, health facilities, and public transport. The Telegraph claims it is part of a wider initiative from Downing Street to move away from legislated mask-wearing, to people choosing to wear them if advised to do so.

However, the two ministers coming out and saying that they would be abandoning their face coverings as soon as possible perhaps signals pressure from ministers on the rest of the government for a return to normal life. When the newspaper asked Number 10 Downing Street if Prime Minister Johnson shared his colleagues’ position, the spokesman reportedly declined to comment.

Despite the ministers’ remarks, some in the medical community, including those advising the government, have called for continued and even long-term mask-wearing.

This week, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) special envoy on COVID-19, Dr David Nabarro, said that masks and social distancing might be needed in areas where there are outbreaks. A member of the influential Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), Dr Susan Hopkins, thinks the UK “may have to do further lockdowns this Winter”.

While another member of SAGE, Professor Susan Michie, said earlier this month that wearing masks may need to go on “forever”.

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