This petition was submitted during the 2019-2024 parliament
Rejected petition Make wearing face masks compulsory where social distancing is difficult.
Legislate to make wearing face masks compulsory in all public places where social distancing is difficult, including shops, workplaces and public transport. Government stockpiling of appropriate face masks should begin now so that they can be provided free or at low cost as the lock down ends,
More details
This petition is brought by the membership body for the over 60s, Silver Voices, as Coronavirus will still be present in the community when lock down is relaxed. Masks give some protection from asymptomatic carriers of the virus, and will save many lives of vulnerable people of all ages. Mask-wearing will be an important contribution to the lock down exit strategy. Most countries are adopting similar measures. Exemptions for very young children and on medical grounds should be considered.
This petition was rejected
Why was this petition rejected?
There’s already a petition about this issue. We cannot accept a new petition when we already have one about a very similar issue.
You are more likely to get action on this issue if you sign and share a single petition.
You may wish to sign this petition calling for the same action: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/304397
You can find out more about coronavirus and how you can protect yourself and others here:
www.gov.uk/coronavirus
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/
The Government has also created an online service to help you out what you can do if you’re struggling because of coronavirus: https://www.gov.uk/find-coronavirus-support
You can read NHS tips to help if you are worried about coronavirus here: https://www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters/coronavirus-covid-19-anxiety-tips
You can read impartial analysis of the Government response to coronavirus and policy developments here:
https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/coronavirus/
You may also be interested to know that because of the large number of petitions that have been started in relation to coronavirus, the Petitions Committee has been questioning the Government about its response to the coronavirus outbreak.
Find out more and watch the Committee put questions suggested by petitioners to Government Ministers and the Deputy Chief Medical Officer: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/326/petitions-committee/news/145767/committee-question-deputy-chief-medical-officer-and-ministers-on-coronavirus-response/
Read letters asking further questions of Government Ministers: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/326/petitions-committee/publications/3/correspondence/
We only reject petitions that don’t meet the petition standards.