Coronavirus: Protective Clothing

(asked on 16th December 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what clinical studies he used as the evidential basis for introducing regulations requiring face coverings to be worn (a) on public transport, (b) in shops and (c) other specified indoor venues during the covid-19 outbreak.


Answered by
Jo Churchill Portrait
Jo Churchill
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This question was answered on 11th January 2021

From the onset of the pandemic, the Government’s policy has been guided by the advice of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), and by evidence reviewed by Public Health England (PHE). There is some evidence to suggest the virus spreads most easily in enclosed spaces and that using face coverings as a precautionary measure could be at least partially effective at reducing the rate of transmission in enclosed spaces where social distancing is not always possible. These conclusions were reached by clinicians and experts of SAGE and PHE after reviewing the available scientific literature on face coverings.

Based on this evidence, we have mandated the wearing of face coverings on public transport, in shops and other indoor venues. The Government continues to keep the evidence under review in order to inform future policy decisions as the pandemic developments.

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