London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Oct 07, 2025

Covid-19: Masks will become personal choice, says Robert Jenrick

Covid-19: Masks will become personal choice, says Robert Jenrick

England will move into a period without legal restrictions where the public will have to exercise "personal responsibility" including on face masks, the housing secretary has said.

Robert Jenrick told the BBC's Andrew Marr people would "come to different conclusions" over masks, but he trusted people "to exercise good judgement".

All legal restrictions are expected to be lifted in England on 19 July.

The Scottish government said there would be an "ongoing need" for masks.

A spokesperson said people could still be expected to wear face coverings on public transport and in shops even after other curbs lift in Scotland on 9 August.

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are in charge of their own coronavirus rules. On face masks and other measures, the Westminster government is working with counterparts in the other nations on a UK-wide approach.

In Wales, minister Mick Antoniw said it was "moving to a stage where we are having increasing normality" with the next review of curbs due on 15 July.

Mr Jenrick said on Sunday he would like the whole union to move as one.

A further 24,248 Covid cases and 15 deaths within 28 days of a positive test were recorded in the UK on Sunday.

When asked on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show whether he was confident that all restrictions would end in England on 19 July, Mr Jenrick said: "It does look as if - thanks to the success of the vaccine programme - that we now have the scope to roll back those restrictions and return to a normality as far as possible."

He said cases might continue to rise significantly 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, Mr 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 as if the data is in the right place."

He urged people to get fully vaccinated and, when asked about travel, said the government was "still looking at the data" in terms of allowing those who have been double-jabbed to avoid quarantine when returning from amber list countries - but it was their objective.


Asked on Sky News about whether he would stop wearing his face mask if the rules allowed, Mr Jenrick said he would, because he did not particularly want to wear one.

But he said: "We will be moving into a phase where these will be matters of personal choice. So some members of society will want to do so for perfectly legitimate reasons but it will be a different period where we as private citizens make these judgements rather than the government telling you what to do."

Mr Jenrick added: "We are now going to move into a period where there won't be legal restrictions - the state won't be telling you what to do - but you will want to exercise a degree of personal responsibility and judgement."

Prof Stephen Powis, NHS England's medical director, said if some people continued to wear face masks in certain circumstances, such as crowded places, then "that's not necessarily a bad thing". "Those habits to reduce infections are a good thing to keep," he added.

He said the link between coronavirus infections, hospital admissions and deaths had not been totally broken as there were people in hospital who had been vaccinated.

"But it's severely weakened," he said.

Mr Jenrick also said the government would be making a statement on school bubbles - the system that means entire groups of pupils have to self-isolate if one pupil within the group tests positive - ahead of 19 July.

Critics say the bubble system is disruptive, and official figures this week showed hundreds of thousands of children had been sent home from school because of it. The education secretary has also said he want to replace the bubble system with a different approach.

"As a parent I've seen it first hand," Mr Jenrick told Times Radio on Sunday. "It's extremely frustrating. We want to see that come to an end and to move to a different and better system."

Writing in the Mail on Sunday, Health Secretary Sajid Javid said there was a compelling argument that easing Covid restrictions was needed for the country's health.

He said the rules had caused a shocking rise in domestic violence and a terrible impact on mental health.

And he said England was on track to meet the fourth and final stage of lockdown lifting - but that "cases are going to rise significantly" and "no date we choose will ever come without risk".

Mr Javid also warned the backlog facing the NHS would get "far worse before it gets better", as millions of people had avoided coming forward for healthcare during the pandemic.

The British Medical Association (BMA) has said measures such as mandatory face coverings in certain settings should stay in place as it warned the number of people admitted to hospitals in England with Covid-19 had risen by 55% in a week.

Dr Chaand Nagpaul, BMA council chairman, called the jump in cases alarming and said: "It makes no sense to remove restrictions in their entirety in just over two weeks' time."

The BMA called for the continued use of masks and new ventilation standards, among other measures.


Robert Jenrick says it is time to take "personal responsibility" on taking precautions like wearing masks

Some may choose to be cautious after 19 July, says NHS England's medical director, Prof Stephen Powis


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
×