Matt Hancock: There’s one big reason it’s safe to return to the office
UK workers have no reason to avoid returning to their offices this autumn, as there is little chance of catching coronavirus in the workplace, health secretary Matt Hancock said today.
Instead Brits are largely transmitting coronavirus when households meet one another in their homes, Hancock told the BBC.
When asked if Britain would follow France in imposing workplace mask rules, Hancock said the government was “not currently considering doing that”.
“The reason is that the evidence from NHS Test and Trace for where people catch the disease is that, very largely, they catch it from one household meeting another household, usually in one of their homes,” he said.
“The amount of people who have caught it in workplaces is relatively low we think, from the evidence that we have got.”
A French government official yesterday confirmed that it will be mandatory to wear face coverings in most workplaces in the country from 1 September.
The new rules will likely be implemented in shared indoor workspaces, such as offices and factories, as the country’s coronavirus rate continues to increase.
Current UK regulations dictate that face masks must be worn on public transport, in shops and supermarkets and in a selection of other indoor settings.
But some countries — including Spain — have gone further and made masks obligatory in all public settings.