Advisable mask-wearing won’t be afforded to everyone

Posted at 10.20am UK time

On the 19th of July, the mask mandate enforcing the wearing of face coverings by law will be dropped in favour of a policy of recommendation. The public will not have to wear them but be expected to wear them. However, this new regulation will not be universal, as many remain under the sway of the second command structure in society.

Businesses can still set their own rules over whether their employees or customers must wear masks. Whilst many businesses will drop the rule, as the repetitive purchasing of single-use face masks bites into the profit line – particularly for small businesses who’ve been the worst affected by lockdown restrictions, some will not.

Firms who can afford it and wish to virtual signal their duty of care towards a heavily vaccinated population and a not-at-risk youth demographic (who have a two in a million chance of succumbing to the virus) will continue to enforce the wearing of face coverings. This is also despite the fact that employees may accept the (low) risk posed by Covid, and are perhaps more wary of carbon dioxide poisoning (symptoms include fatigue, drowsiness, and shortness of breath) caused by wearing a face covering for the entire shift.