The law mandating face coverings was scrapped in July 19, under plans that lifted almost all Covid rules in England, reports Asian Lite News
Sajid Javid has urged the public to wear face masks in enclosed spaces to combat spiking Covid cases – just as he was challenged about whether Tory MPs are leading by example by avoiding coverings in the “packed” parliament.
In his first ever Downing Street press conference, the health secretary repeated his warning that infections could reach 100,000 a day as the country enters a challenging winter period.
He stressed that, aside from vaccinations, people can take other – now voluntary – measures such as meeting outdoors where possible, ensuring good ventilation, wearing masks in crowded spaces and taking lateral flow tests.
He said: “With winter soon upon us, these little steps make a big difference. And they’re more important now than they have ever been.”
But he was questioned about none of the MPs on the “completely packed” Tory benches wearing coverings in the Commons on Wednesday. Javid admitted it was “a very fair point” and politicians had a “role to play in setting an example”.
The law mandating face coverings was scrapped in July 19, under plans that lifted almost all Covid rules in England.
In the same month, Javid said he would not wear a face mask on a quiet train even if there was a sign asking him to once restrictions are eased.
“If I was on crowded tube in London I would wear a mask,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
“If I was on the West Coast mainline going up to my constituency and it’s late at night and there are about three people in the carriage, even if it said ‘we recommend a mask’, I wouldn’t wear a mask.”
Latest government figures show that a further 179 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 as of Wednesday.
As of 9am on Wednesday, there had been a further 49,139 lab-confirmed Covid-19 cases in the UK.
Hospital admissions stand at 868 on average per day over the last seven days, up from 780 a week earlier, a rise of 11%.
Earlier, Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation which represents health bodies, warned “we risk stumbling into a winter crisis” unless measures such as face masks and vaccine passports – the government’s “Plan B” for the coming months – are introduced in England.
Highest Covid-19 deaths since March
Since lockdown rules ended in the country three months ago, the United Kingdom is witnessing a sudden surge in COVID-19 cases. Official figures on Wednesday revealed 49,139 COVID-19 positive cases were reported in a single day, marking the largest daily rise since lockdown ended in the country.
This is for the eighth consecutive day that more than 40,000 new cases of Covid-19 were reported. Meanwhile, doctors in the UK urged the British government to reimpose Covid-19 restrictions at the earliest. Due to a new wave of Covid-19, the hospitals in the UK are overwhelmed with patients.
The British government has however clarified that no new lockdown would be imposed in the country as of now. The United Kingdom has the eighth biggest death toll globally from Covid-19, with nearly 139,000 fatalities. The total number of Covid-19 cases in the country stands at 8,589,737.
The country also reported 179 Covid-related deaths. The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in the UK now stands at 139,031. Confirmed cases in the UK have risen steadily in October, with COVID-19 rates soaring among largely unvaccinated secondary school children. And this in turn is spreading to the older population and more vulnerable age groups
Around 86% of people aged 12 and over in Britain have had their first dose of vaccine and more than 78% have received both doses, the latest figures showed.
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