Coronavirus: UK government faces backlash over face mask instructions

Face mask requirements in hospitals have reignited debates over PPE shortages

Nursing staff wearing protective face masks, shields and gloves work on a ward at the Addenbrooke's Hospital, operated by the Cambridge University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, in Cambridge /AP Images/BloombergShow less

The UK government has faced criticism over sudden changes in its instructions to hospital workers after telling staff they will have to wear face masks from June 15 onwards.

A head of the country’s National Health Service has poured scorn on the government over the changes to the advice issued late on Friday, which has left hospitals scrambling to work out how they will adapt to requirements.

Speaking at a daily coronavirus briefing, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said all hospital staff in England a would be required to wear a surgical mask from mid-June onwards while visitors and outpatients have been told to wear some kind of face covering.

In response, Chris Hopson, chief executive of NHS Providers, accused the government of making last-minute decisions on political grounds and keeping the health service in the dark.

"I think it's the latest in a long line of announcements that have had a major impact on the way the NHS operates, in which those frontline organisations feel they have been left completely in the dark and they are then expected to make significant and complex operational changes either immediately or with very little notice," Mr Hopson told the BBC.

People wearing face masks to protect against the new coronavirus walk outside of a shopping mall at a pedestran shopping street in Beijing. China's capital is lowering its emergency response level to the second-lowest starting Saturday for the coronavirus pandemic. That will lift most restrictions on people traveling to Beijing from Wuhan and surrounding Hubei province, where the virus first appeared late last year. AP Photo

Health professionals take care of a patient at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) ward where patients infected with the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, are being treated at the Doctor Ernesto Che Guevara Public Hospital in Marica city, state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. AFP

Health professionals work at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) ward where patients infected with the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, are being treated at the Doctor Ernesto Che Guevara Public Hospital in Marica city, state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. AFP

A South Korean woman receives body temperature check from soldier as she arrive visits at the Seoul National Cemetery during a 65th anniversary of the Memorial Day amid coronavirus pandemic in Seoul, South Korea. South Korea marks the 65th anniversary of the Memorial Day for people who died during the military service in the 1950-53 Korean War. Getty

Gravediggers carry a coffin during a funeral at the Jardines del Recuerdo Cemetery in Managua, amid the new coronavirus pandemic. AFP

People protest following the death of a young man while in police custody, after he had been arrested allegedly for failing to comply with measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 coronavirus in Guadalajara, Jalisco state, Mexico. AFP

Passengers wearing protective face masks are seen at the concourse amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, at Tokyo Metro's newly-opened Toranomon Hills Station in Tokyo, Japan. REUTERS

A protester raises his fist in the streets of Sao Goncalo during a protest amidst the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in Sao Goncalo, Brazil. About 300 people walked and shouted slogans against the government of Jair Bolsonaro and protested against the death of the American George Floyd and the boy Joao Pedro (murdered by police in the Salgueiro community). The protesters were sympathizers of the "All Against Racism Movement" and "Black Lives Matter." Getty

Visitors at the sold out open air cinema watch a movie in Berlin, Germany. As part of the easing measures concerts, kino and other open air events are allowed from June 2nd in the German capital, with a maximum of 200 people. The lock down measures have largely eased nationwide, with stores, restaurants and cafes open again, though under certain restrictions to avoid people crowding together. The economic outlook as a whole remains uncertain, prompting the German government to approve a EUR 130 billion stimulus package earlier this week. Getty

Disguised as characters of "Alice in Wonderland" and wearing face masks against the spread of the novel coronavirus, Venezuelan migrants perfom in Bogota. AFP

People stand in a line waiting food outside a community center during the coronavirus crisis in Padre Rodolfo Ricciardelli neigborhood, before knowed as Villa 1-11-14, in Buenos Aires, Argentina one of the neighborhood most affected by COVID-19. EPA

The shadows of synthetic macaws are cast on the pavement backdropped by a mural of a macaw as pedestrians wearing protective face masks walk past, in the Petare neighborhood of Caracas, Venezuela. President Nicolas Maduro and Venezuela's opposition, led by Juan Guaido, have agreed to measures for battling the new coronavirus to be overseen by international health workers, a first step in years toward cooperation between bitter political rivals for the benefit of the country. AP Photo

Police offciers stand guard as travellers wearing protective face masks queue for check-in on an Air Austral flight to Paris, from Dzaoudzi Airport in Petite Terre on the French Indian Ocean island of Mayotte, as measures to curb the spread of the COVID-19 (novel coronavirus) are maintained on Mayotte over concerns about the continued spread of the virus there and a fragile health system. AFP

People walk along a street outside the Jama Masjid after the government eased a nationwide lockdown imposed as a preventive measure against the COVID-19 coronavirus in the old quarters of New Delhi. AFP

People walk in a park after it was reopened with the easing of the lockdown against the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus in Lahore, Pakistan. Countries around the world are taking increased measures to stem the widespread of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus which causes the Covid-19 disease. EPA

A public health officer checks the temperature of a Muslim man as he arrives to attend Friday prayers at a mosque in the southern Thai province of Narathiwat as restrictions aimed at curbing the spread of the COVID-19 novel coronavirus are slowly eased. AFP

Earlier, in a tweet, the NHS boss wrote: “How, as a Government, do you really irritate NHS trust CEOs at the end of another difficult, busy, hard, week?

“Announce two major operational policy changes on visiting and PPE usage at 1700 on a Friday afternoon without any notice or consultation. They are not amused”

At the same time, the British Medical Association has warned there was "little detail" on how the policy would be implemented, where the masks would come from or how outpatients and visitors would be given them.

The sudden requirements on masks have reignited debates in the UK over poor provision of personal protective equipment at the start of the pandemic.

"It is absolutely crucial that the government ensures there are enough supplies of face masks for staff, and adequate provision of face coverings for outpatients and the public by June 15," the medical association’s BMA's consultants committee chair Dr Rob Harwood said.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government has faced mounting scrutiny over its handling of the coronavirus outbreak, with the country’s death toll passing the grim milestone of 40,000 fatalities this week.

On Friday, the WHO said it is now advising that in areas where the virus is spreading, people should wear fabric masks when social distancing is not possible, such as on public transport and in shops.