“Freedom day” is here! The UK government have eased most government advised regulations regarding COVID-19. Masks are no longer compulsory in England from 19th July and wearing a face masks will depend on the individual.
Retailers, hospitality venues like restaurants, transport services and public venues will be left to their own discretion and will advise their customers on whether or not to continue wearing face coverings.
Here is the low-down on which indoor areas face coverings will be mandatory:
Public Transport:
Starting from 19th July, the use of face masks on public transport such as trains and buses will be left to the discretion of transport operators.
National rail and bus operators have said that they do not require passengers to wear face coverings.
However, Sadiq Khan confirmed before that passengers travelling with TFL in London will need to wear face coverings.
Supermarkets:
All of the major supermarkets released a statement regarding employees and customers wearing face coverings inside.
Supermarkets including Aldi, Lidl, Sainsbury’s Asda, Morrisons, Waitrose and Iceland have said that
they will continue to advise customers to wear their face coverings inside and while not social distancing.
Other retailers:
Wearing masks will be a personal choice for most employees and customers. However, most retailers have advised to wear face coverings to keep others safe and to ensure the virus is not being spread.
Waterstones have said they will be asking customers to wear their masks from the 19th July.
However, other retailers such as Boots and The Body Shop have expressed that shoppers are able to choose whether or not they will be wearing face coverings.
Restaurants and Pubs:
Although wearing masks inside restaurants have never been needed, most establishments have kept the face coverings rule present for customers who walk from their tables and in the restaurant when needed. Therefore, in order to keep safety precautions most restaurants have kept their rules in place to ensure cases do not increase.
Museums and other visitor attractions:
Most museums and tourist attractions have stated that they recommend visitors to wear their face coverings while walking around their establishments.
It was mentioned that Natural History Museum have advised all visitors to wear masks, this includes attractions such as London Dungeon and Historical Royal Palaces.
However, markets such as Borough market and Spitalfields markets have stated that masks will not needed to be worn in the outdoor market but will need to wear masks inside.
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