Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick
UK’s Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick said that the country will move into a period without legal restrictions where the public will have to exercise “personal responsibility” including on face masks.
Jenrick told the BBC’s Andrew Marr people would “come to different conclusions” over masks, but he trusted people “to exercise good judgement”.
He told Sky News he would choose not to wear a face mask.
All legal restrictions are expected to be lifted in England on 19 July.
Jenrick’s comments come after doctors warned that some measures – including the use of face masks – should be kept beyond July, with the British Medical Association (BMA) calling the rise in infections alarming.
He said cases might continue to increase as restrictions were eased.
“But we now have to move into a different period where we learn to live with the virus, we take precautions and we as individuals take personal responsibility,” he said.
When asked if the requirement to wear face masks in certain settings will definitely go, Jenrick said: “I can’t make that commitment this morning because the prime minister will make an announcement in the coming days – it does look if the data is in the right place.”
He urged people to get double inoculated.
