Majority likely to comply if mandatory mask-wearing reinstated, says expert

Professor Linda Bauld said the nation is “the outlier” in the UK when it comes to coronavirus safety measures, as many aspects included in the Westminster Government’s Plan B are already in place in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The behavioural scientist, who is Professor of Public Health at the University of Edinburgh, said the main issue is communication, and added that making something mandatory is a “big shift” which sends a message that people need to comply.

Under the Government’s current Plan A strategy, people in England are advised to wear a face covering in crowded and enclosed settings but it is not a legal requirement.

Prof Bauld said it is “striking and very unfortunate” that most Conservative MPs sit in the House of Commons without masks, compared with those on the opposition benches who have generally been seen to wear face coverings.

She told the PA news agency: “Leaders need to lead by example and with these (coronavirus case) numbers and the concerns we have, absolutely, I think politicians from all parties should be wearing a face covering when they’re in the chamber, when they can’t distance etc.”

She said that, when something is not mandatory and is not adhered to by some, that attitude can filter out to others – including those who would normally stick to the guidance.

“It’s social norms that drive these behaviours. When you mandate something, it’s a big shift, it sends a message that it’s expected and therefore you need to comply unless there’s an exception.”

She suggested there can be an attitude of “people around me are not wearing one, so why should I bother?”

She added: “I think there are some people who feel quite comfortable still wearing one and don’t care what anybody else thinks, but there are others who do (care about others’ opinions), and so therefore I think just saying we recommend it but it’s not required isn’t strong enough. It just doesn’t really work.”

If face coverings do become mandatory again in England, she said she suspects there will be groups who feel “annoyed”, “let down” and that restrictions are “infringing on their liberties”, but added that most people are likely to comply.

Prof Bauld said: “If you look at some of the evidence from previously in the pandemic, and also people’s attitudes, I think a lot of people will support this and just do it.

“So I don’t think you’re going to see rioting in the streets or protests the way you have, for example, against vaccine certification which people feel very strongly about, but there will be groups who will want to make an issue of this and will insist on not complying. But I don’t think that will be the majority.”

Figures after England’s so-called “Freedom Day” in July showed the vast majority of adults were continuing to wear face coverings when out and about, despite no longer being legally required to do so in certain settings.

A lockdown as we knew it last winter is not something Prof Bauld envisages.

“I think we need to roll out the boosters, we need to get more teenagers vaccinated, these are the things (that need to happen),” she said.

“I really don’t see any appetite in any Government around the UK to shut things down again.”

Professor Stephen Reicher, a member of the Scientific Pandemic Insights Group on Behaviours (SPI-B), said there had been a “failure of political will” to implement protective measures, and that public concerns had, throughout the pandemic, tended to “mirror” the evidence around levels of infection.

He told PA: “In many ways, the public have been following the science. Whether or not Government have is a different question.”

He said the public response would be dictated by how new or reintroduced measures were framed.

“The danger is that if you describe any measure as lockdown, then of course it becomes much more negative,” he said.

“And what has been called for by many of us isn’t even restrictions, it’s measures like making spaces safer, it’s measures like supporting people to self-isolate.”

He added: “I think people will understand the importance of protective and supportive measures, and some mild restrictive measures, I just think it makes sense to have face masks.”