Health bosses caused a political row last night after urging ‘coughing and sneezing’ workers to ‘wear a mask or go home’ to halt the rapid spread of flu.
No 10 backed the call, but Kemi Badenoch warned such measures risked reigniting the ‘trauma’ of Covid and Nigel Farage declared it ‘nonsense’.
It came after Daniel Elkeles, chief executive of NHS Providers, which represents NHS trusts, said the nation should revive infection-control measures implemented during Covid.
He said the country was being bombarded by a ‘very nasty strain’ that arrived earlier than usual amid ‘perfect flu-spreading conditions’ and had even forced some schools to close.
But Tory leader Mrs Badenoch revealed she was still ‘traumatised’ by all the mask-wearing during Covid. She told Sky News: ‘Face coverings can be a barrier to social interaction, social cohesion and I do worry about a mask mandate.
‘I don’t think the Government should be mandating anything. Let’s have some common sense.
‘I think people can make up their own minds.
‘If you are really sick, you should be in bed, not be on public transport. I think that’s more of a problem. But the truth is, many people are contagious before they realise that they’re even ill. So I’m not sure it would work. It’s a surprising announcement.’
People wearing masks on July 15, 2021, towards the tail end of the Covid-19 pandemic
Mr Farage, the leader of Reform UK, said: ‘I didn’t wear them last time and I won’t wear them this time. This is nonsense.’
Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg, who was a Cabinet minister during the pandemic, questioned the science behind the need to wear face masks, saying: ‘As the evidence for face masks was pretty dodgy last time, why should anyone believe them now?’
A mutated influenza A(H3N2) strain – dubbed a super flu – is dominating cases in England, but UK Health Security Agency data suggests this year’s vaccine is providing good protection.
However, the number of people in hospital with flu in England is at a record level for this time of year and is expected to hit an all-time high within days, with ‘no peak in sight’.
Mr Elkeles told Times Radio: ‘It’s warm and wet, so it’s perfect flu-spreading conditions.
‘We need to get back into the habit that if you are coughing and sneezing, but you’re not unwell enough to not go to work, then you must wear a mask when you’re in public spaces.
‘We were all very good about infection control during Covid, and we really, really need to get back to that.’
Asked if he meant people who have a cold or a cough should wear a mask in the office, Mr Elkeles said: ‘That would be very sensible to their colleagues, or probably their colleagues would say, ‘Please go home’.
‘This is a very nasty strain of flu. It spreads very easily.’
No 10 said: ‘There is long-standing guidance for people on a range of measures they can consider taking to help limit the spread of winter bugs if they have flu-like symptoms. This is neither new nor an instruction.
‘The best defence against flu is the vaccine.’
