A scientist advising the government on the pandemic has accused ministers of “very confused messaging” over the expected lifting of most remaining coronavirus restrictions on 19 July.
Boris Johnson is set to tell England that it will be left to individuals to decide how to manage the risks of Covid-19, with multiple reports suggesting the prime minister will announce his intention to tear up social distancing rules at a Downing Street press conference on Monday evening.
But arguing that “in order to act responsibly, you’ve got to know what the responsible thing to do actually is”, Professor Stephen Reicher, a member of the government’s Scientific Pandemic Insights Group on Behaviours (Spi-B), urged the need for clear messaging and the continuation of “support and proportionate mitigations to keep us safe”.
Asked if he was more concerned about the government's messaging around the pandemic or the requirement to wear face masks potentially being dropped, the social psychology expert told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: “I think both.”
“I think we need very clear messaging and I think in certain spaces – crowded, badly ventilated spaces – masks are crucial mitigation.”
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Strongly suggesting on Sunday that wearing face coverings will become a matter “of personal choice” after 19 July, communities secretary Robert Jenrick told Sky News that he himself would opt not to do so, saying: “I don’t particularly want to wear a mask. I don’t think a lot of people enjoy doing it.”
Confronted with comments by care minister Helen Whately, who said “I think I might” when asked on Monday if she would continue to wear a mask when commuting on a crowded train, Prof Reicher said: “Will she say she ‘might’ take the vaccine?
“I suspect she might lose her job if she was to say she ‘might’ take the vaccine, or not take the vaccine. This is very confused messaging.”
“In order for people to act responsibly, information is critical but resources are critical as well,” Prof Reicher said, citing the need for infected individuals to self-isolate.
He continued: “That’s really important, people have got to take their responsibility to do that. But for many people it’s impossible without the practical support, without the resources, which we’ve never been given.
“My fear is that when the government says, ‘you take your responsibilities seriously’, what they are saying is, ‘actually, we’re not going to give you that support and we’re not going to take our responsibilities seriously’.”
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His comments came shortly after Chaand Nagpaul, chair of the British Medical Association, insisted “it makes no sense” to stop wearing masks in enclosed public settings, given that “we know that face masks are proven to reduce the spread of this infection if worn by everyone around you, including yourself.
“At a time when we have exceptional high levels of cases, we can’t understand why we would knowingly want people to become infected.
“And as for personal choice, remember that public face masks do not protect the wearer predominantly, they protect people around you.
“So many people will be forced to go to work, they will need to travel on public transport – why should they, against their will, need to be exposed to a virus and the risk of falling ill when it’s so simple that they can be, to a significant degree, protected by themselves and others around them wearing masks.”
Cases are continuing to soar, rising 66 per cent in the past week, with 24,248 new infections reported on Sunday.
While experts and politicians believe vaccination appears to have “broken the chain” between infection and severe illness, many are still concerned that having such high levels of cases among a widely vaccinated population could provide fertile breeding grounds for new variants.
“Allowing community transmission to surge is like building new ‘variant factories’ at a very fast rate,” Sage member Professor Susan Michie told The Guardian.
In addition to plans for so-called “Freedom Day”, ministers are expected to drop all isolation and testing rules for those who come into contact with the virus if they have received two vaccine doses, amid a warning that up to a million people a day will be forced into quarantine unless rules are relaxed. One expert called for a “midway proposal” of mandatory daily testing.