UK to Continue Recommending Indoor Mask Wearing

Nadhim Zahawi, UK Minister of State for Vaccine Deployment
Photo by Reuters Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] The UK, which will fully lift COVID-19 restrictions starting from the 19th, has decided to recommend indoor mask-wearing.

Nadhim Zahawi, the Minister for COVID Vaccine Deployment, stated in an interview with Sky News on the 11th (local time), "We plan to announce guidelines after the 19th of this month that 'mask-wearing is expected in indoor and enclosed spaces.'

The UK's daily new COVID-19 cases surged to the highest level since January, reaching the 30,000 range. However, the UK government faced controversy for pushing ahead with the full lifting of COVID-19 measures as scheduled.

Mandatory indoor mask-wearing was originally set to be removed along with social distancing measures, but this policy appears to have been changed in response to the controversy.

Minister Zahawi said, "Even though the legal obligation will disappear, we will advise people to continue wearing masks in complex places," adding, "The stance on indoor mask-wearing is shifting from 'must wear' to 'expected to wear.'"

Health Secretary Sajid Javid also told The Telegraph, "It is irresponsible for people to take off masks in enclosed spaces."

On this day, the UK reported 31,772 new cases and 26 deaths.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.