British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday advocated for wearing masks in shops during the coronavirus pandemic and said his government will be weighing whether to make the practice mandatory in the coming days.
The United Kingdom, with a population of 66.65 million, reported 291,155 confirmed cases of COVID-19, 44,904 deaths and 1,378 recoveries, according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker.
“I do think that in shops, it is very important to wear a face covering,” Mr. Johnson said, Reuters reported. “Yes — face coverings, I think people should be wearing them in shops.”
He joins fellow European leaders in backing the call to wear masks in an effort to reduce the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus.
“Masks have a great deal of value in confined places,” the prime minister added, hinting at new data that shows how COVID-19 can spread indoors.
Last week, the WHO issued a new brief acknowledging that the coronavirus can spread via airborne transmission indoors, after previously emphasizing that droplets people forcefully expel through sneezing or coughing are prime spreaders.
“In terms of how we do that, whether we make it mandatory or not, we will be looking at the guidance and will be saying a little bit more in the next few days.”
