Face masks to be compulsory for shoppers in England

People in England will be required to wear masks inside shops and supermarkets, the government of Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain announced Tuesday, ending months of equivocation over mandating face coverings to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

Many scientists found the dithering over face coverings in England mystifying — and uneasily reminiscent of delays in imposing a lockdown in March. The hesitation cost thousands of lives and has left Britain with one of the highest death rates in the world from the coronavirus.

More than 50,000 people in Britain have died from the virus, and Johnson’s government has faced intense criticism for its sometimes laissez-faire approach to public health measures, an attitude that was evident in its reluctance to make face coverings compulsory.

The reversal is set to take effect a week from Friday. In mandating face masks, England followed the path of other European countries, like Germany and Italy, and of Scotland, which is part of Britain but sets its own health policy.

Many scientists had pleaded for months with Johnson’s government to heed the growing evidence that masks could help stop the spread of the virus. Unlike in the United States, where feelings about masks often fall along political lines, England’s hesitation stemmed in part from a scientific debate among advisers about the usefulness of masks.

As recently as late April, the government’s powerful Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies retroactively edited the minutes of a previous meeting to emphasize that “it would be unreasonable to claim a large benefit from wearing a mask.”

The advisers’ misgivings, apparently a response to a lack of evidence from randomized controlled trials, reflected what critics have called a rigid approach to the science that has slowed England’s response to the virus since March.

“Some scientists feel that a very high level of certainty is required before advice is given for the public to undertake wearing a mask or other behaviors that would reduce disease transmission,” said Paul Edelstein, an emeritus professor at the University of Pennsylvania, who helped write an influential report to the British government encouraging face coverings this month.

Masks have been mandatory on public transportation in England since mid-June, and the government had previously encouraged the wearing of masks in enclosed spaces. But Johnson resisted wearing one himself until Friday.

As recently as this weekend, a prominent minister, Michael Gove, spoke publicly against the idea of mandating masks, saying that the practice should be treated as a matter of “courtesy and good manners.”

The government has indicated that the police, rather than shop owners, will enforce the new rules, with those who refuse facing a fine of up to 100 pounds, or $125.

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