Face coverings to become compulsory in England's shops from July 24

14 July 2020, 06:50

By Alice Dear

After weeks of speculation, the Government will be making face coverings mandatory in shops in England in the coming days.

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Wearing a face covering in shops will be compulsory in England from July 24.

Later today, Health Secretary Matt Hancock will announce the changes to the policy, which include a fine for those not complying.

The rules will come into place later this month, on July 24, with people who don't comply facing a potential penalty of £100.

This charge will go down to £50 if it is paid within 14 days.

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Children under the age of 11 and people with certain disabilities will be exempt from the rules.

These changes from the Government come just days after it became mandatory in Scotland for people to wear face coverings while shopping.

The new rules came into place on July 10 after being announced by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon days before.

It has been mandatory for people to wear face coverings or masks on public transport in England from June 15, a measure which was bought into place to protect the public from the spread of COVID-19.

This week, Boris Johnson hinted that these new rules would be coming into effect, telling the public that face coverings are "very important".

On July 13, during a visit to a London Ambulance Centre, Boris told Sky News that as the cases of COVID-19 come down, face mask can be used as "an extra insurance".

He said: "Face masks are an extra insurance that we can use to stop it coming back and stop it getting out of control again."

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