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Face coverings compulsory on public transport in England from 15 June

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Saint66

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Richard Clinnick reporting on Twitter that masks will become mandatory on trains from 15th June.
Hearing that face coverings for passengers will become mandatory on trains from June 15.
You can be refused travel and even fined for not wearing a face covering says
@grantshapps in daily COVID briefing.

Shapps says 2m distancing wont be possible on public transport as more people return.

Edit: The legislation can now be found at https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2020/592/contents/made

Requirement to wear a face covering when on public transport

3.—(1) No person may, without reasonable excuse, use a public transport service without wearing a face covering.

(2) For the purposes of paragraph (1), a person is using a public transport service at any time when—

(a)they are boarding any vehicle by means of which a public transport service is provided, or

(b)they are (whether or not for the purposes of travel) on board any vehicle by means of which a public transport service is provided.

(3) But the requirement in paragraph (1) does not apply—

(a)to a child who is under the age of 11;

(b)to an employee of the operator of the relevant public transport service acting in the course of their employment;

(c)to any other person providing services under arrangements made with the operator of the relevant public transport service who is providing those services;

(d)to a constable or police community support officer acting in the course of their duty;

(e)to an emergency responder (other than a constable) acting in their capacity as an emergency responder;

(f)to a relevant official acting in the course of their employment or their duties;

(g)where a person is allocated a cabin, berth or other similar accommodation, at any time when they are in that accommodation—

(i)alone, or

(ii)only with members of their own household or a linked household;

(h)where—

(i)a person is permitted, or ordinarily required, to board and to remain in a vehicle when using the public transport service, and

(ii)the vehicle is not itself used for the provision of a public transport service,

the person remains in that vehicle.

(4) In this regulation—

“emergency responder” has the same meaning as for the purposes of section 153A of the Inheritance Tax Act 1984(1);

“linked household” has the meaning given in regulation 7A of the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England) Regulations 2020(2);

“relevant official” means—
(a)

an inspector, or a surveyor of ships, appointed under section 256 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 (“the 1995 Act”)(3);
(b)

a pilot (within the meaning given in paragraph 22(1) of Schedule 3A to the 1995 Act(4));
(c)

a civil aviation inspector, as defined in Annex 9 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation signed at Chicago on 7th December 1944(5);
(d)

a border force officer (within the meaning given in paragraph 7 of the Schedule 20 to the Coronavirus Act 2020(6)).
Reasonable excuse

4. For the purposes of regulation 3(1), the circumstances in which a person (“P”) has a reasonable excuse include those where—

(a)P cannot put on, wear or remove a face covering—

(i)because of any physical or mental illness or impairment, or disability (within the meaning of section 6 of the Equality Act 2010(7)), or

(ii)without severe distress;

(b)P is travelling with, or providing assistance to, another person (“B”) and B relies on lip reading to communicate with P;

(c)P removes their face covering to avoid harm or injury, or the risk of harm or injury, to themselves or others;

(d)P is travelling to avoid injury, or to escape a risk of harm, and does not have a face covering with them;

(e)if it is reasonably necessary for P to eat or drink, P removes their face covering to eat or drink;

(f)P has to remove their face covering to take medication;

(g)a relevant person requests that P remove their face covering.
 
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Mcr Warrior

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Grant Shapps currently announcing that the wearing of some sort of face covering to become compulsory when using public transport. (Effective Monday 15th June 2020)
 
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LNW-GW Joint

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Just in England, for now.
No doubt other parts of the UK will follow.
Wales has not been particularly keen so far.
 

Deepgreen

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It has just been announced that face coverings are to be made compulsory on public transport in England from 15 June. Here is the link to the BBC News page:

Wearing face coverings will be compulsory on public transport in England from 15 June, the transport secretary has said.

Grant Shapps said "every precaution" must be taken as passenger numbers are expected to increase when lockdown measures are further eased.

People will be have to wear coverings on buses, trains, aircraft and ferries.

Very young children, disabled people and those with breathing difficulties will be exempt, he said.
 
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NorthOxonian

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I suppose the new mask rule will mean people avoid public transport (the vast majority around here hate masks and do not like wearing them), which is the goal.

I hope these restrictions are temporary though - I'd hate for this to be a permanent feature of public transport.
 

NorthOxonian

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Does this mean no mask, no travel? How will this be enforced?

Presumably on boarding of a bus, or at the station where it is staffed. Not sure about is staffed stations - I can't imagine guards will want to start confrontations over whether passengers are wearing masks!

What will it mean if someone needs to drink on their journey? I'm thinking especially in July and August on reasonably long journeys - will people be allowed to remove masks to take on water?
 

cactustwirly

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For god's sake, masks do jack all to stop you getting the virus. Especially when front line workers are struggling to get them
 

liam456

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And that it will have legal force through the National Rail Conditions of Travel.

EDIT: How could they enforce it though the NRCOT but not have it apply in Wales & Scotland immediately?
 
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Huntergreed

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For god's sake, masks do jack all to stop you getting the virus. Especially when front line workers are struggling to get them
Just to clarify, there's no requirement for a 'surgical mask' (ie one of those used on the front line), simply a face covering, which could be anything from a scarf to a bandana.
 

43066

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My heart sank reading that.

Likewise. There’s no scientific basis for this requirement, yet it’s now being made a “condition of travel”.

Welcome to the UK in 2020: a police state.
 

cactustwirly

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Just to clarify, there's no requirement for a 'surgical mask' (ie one of those used on the front line), simply a face covering, which could be anything from a scarf to a bandana.

Which is pointless, defeats the whole point of a mask.
 

AM9

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Presumably on boarding of a bus, or at the station where it is staffed. Not sure about is staffed stations - I can't imagine guards will want to start confrontations over whether passengers are wearing masks! ..
You can bet that other passengers will put pressure on those who think that it doesn't apply to them.
What will it mean if someone needs to drink on their journey? I'm thinking especially in July and August on reasonably long journeys - will people be allowed to remove masks to take on water?

Here starts the search to find ways of avoiding the issue.
 
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westv

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Hardly anybody wants to wear a face covering so the nanny state has to intervene.
 

Cletus

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Isn't this all going backwards? Why wasn't this done when the lockdown started?

The lockdown is being eased every day, but restrictions like this are the opposite.

:s
 

westv

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What will it mean if someone needs to drink on their journey? I'm thinking especially in July and August on reasonably long journeys - will people be allowed to remove masks to take on water?
And on the tube in summer people are always being urged to stay hydrated.
 

joncombe

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You can bet that other passengers will put pressure on those who think that it doesn't apply to them.
What will it mean if someone needs to drink on their journey? I'm thinking especially in July and August on reasonably long journeys - will people be allowed to remove masks to take on water?

Here starts the search to find ways of avoiding the issue.

Is it really a way of avoiding the issue? All over London in the summer you will see signs advising you to take a bottle of water with you. Not a lot of point if you won't be allowed to drink it.
 
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leightonbd

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Grant Shapps currently announcing that the wearing of some sort of face covering to become compulsory when using public transport. (Effective Monday 15th June 2020)
That’s yet another ‘neither one thing nor the other’ policy, like the quarantine. If it’s worth doing, why not do it NOW? Bizarre.
 

Domh245

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Which is pointless, defeats the whole point of a mask.

Much as I'm ambivalent about mask wearing, the whole point of it isn't to protect yourself, but to protect others from you unwittingly spreading it, in which case there is some evidence that it does seem to work. And when that's the goal, it doesn't need to be medical grade PPE (indeed, use of that in this setting is pointless!), just something that can catch droplets
 

AM9

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Facemasks certainly don't seem to be taking off here, although you do get individuals in supermarkets dressed as extras from Zombie Apocalypse who then proceed to pay with CASH!
Maybe they don't have any other means.
 
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