The owner of Westfield Shopping Centre in London’s White City said that she will continue to require customers to wear masks after July 19.
Jacinta Rowsell said: “We are very aware and very concerned about the fact that guests who come to the center really want to feel safe. As retailers and our employees, they are our top priority, so where possible, we will encourage people to enter Wear a mask at the center.”
She said that individual stores in the mall will be able to formulate their own mask policies and will “actively encourage” the wearing of masks instead of forcing people entering the store to wear masks.
When current regulations that mandated wearing face masks in shops and public transportation were lifted this month, business leaders were exploring how to deal with the dilemma of masks.
The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan postponed a decision to wait for negotiations on whether to impose mask requirements on passengers using London transport services such as the London Underground, buses and ground lines.
Health Minister Sajid Javid appointed him mayor, and TfL has the power to force ticket holders to wear masks if they wish.
Simon Roberts, the CEO of Sainsbury, avoided the question of whether the store still compulsory use of masks, saying that he needs to gauge how employees feel about this issue.
“As a company, we put safety first. It’s about the choices customers and employees want to exercise. We want people to feel safe and support them.”
Melvin Benn, who is in charge of reading music festivals and other large music gatherings, said that he will fill up the event and will not require anyone to wear a mask.
“I think the government is doing the right thing, and the venomous tongue made by the front bench of the Labour Party is nonsense,” he told R4. “We want to reopen, this country wants to reopen, we are tired, we are ready to reopen. We need to reopen because the risk is not that big, and honestly, when Professor Whitty supports it, we have nothing but Why do you want to do anything besides just sitting on the sidelines?”
Health Minister Sajid Javid said that out of “respect” to others, he will continue to wear a mask in crowded spaces.
“For the foreseeable future, I will carry a mask with me,” he told Sky TV. “I think this is a very responsible thing for anyone.
“If I am in a crowded or enclosed space, I will wear a mask. In fact, if there are people around me or those who are uncomfortable not wearing a mask, I will wear a mask.
“This is what I call personality responsibility.”
For the Labor Party, the shadow health minister Jonathan Ashworth (Jonathan Ashworth) accused the government of “dismissing” masks. He asked on LBC: “Why not maintain some other mitigation measures, such as wearing masks, while we are on this track? [of rising cases]? “
Professor Calum Semple, a member of the Emergency Scientific Advisory Group (Sage), said that there is “no reason” that companies cannot refuse to provide services to customers who do not wear masks after July 19.
He told Time Radio: “There is no reason why companies that make their own assessments cannot say,’If you come in, we still want you to wear a mask’.
“They can’t force it, but the company is not forced to serve you, so if you run a nail shop and you want customers to wear masks, you only need to say’if you want to finish your nails.’
“This is a good example. For 40 minutes, you don’t want your employees to breathe what Joe Public breathes to you.
“There is no reason why many companies can’t actually just say’wait a minute, in this case, we want you to wear a mask’.
“I don’t understand why public transportation companies can’t make the same assessment.”
Business leaders called for a “vigorous push” to bring workers and tourists back to central London.
Muniya Barua, director of interim policy at London First, said: “The government should now send a clear message that public transport and workplaces are safe and that working from home is no longer the default setting, so we can start getting people back to the capital again.”
Charlie Mullins, the founder of Pimlico Plumbers, called on people to “eliminate another plague that is afflicting this country. This damn job from the family rights culture seems to have affected the numbers when we were fighting Covid. Millions of people”.
