Face-coverings to remain a condition of carriage on TfL – Sadiq Khan.

Even though the government’s Plan B restrictions are coming to an end, the London Mayor would like commuters to continue using face masks in the capital’s transport network.

Flickr/Qsimple

Mayor Sadiq Khan tweeted on Wednesday:

“The easing of COVID-19 restrictions is great news for our city’s economic recovery and will come as a relief to many businesses who have faced significant hardship since the pandemic began.

“This is not the end of our fight. COVID-19 still poses a significant threat and wearing a face covering is one of the most effective things we can do to stop the spread. The Government must rethink its plans and keep legislation in place to make face coverings compulsory.

“Face coverings will remain a condition of carriage on TfL services. I’m asking everyone to do the right thing and continue to wear a face-covering when travelling on TfL to keep Londoners protected and prevent further restrictions from being necessary later down the line.

“I would like to send a heartfelt thanks to everyone who has made the easing of restrictions possible, particularly the NHS who have worked tirelessly to administer the vaccine and keep cases of the Omicron variant at bay.”

While there will be no legal requirement to wear a mask, commuters can still be turned away from TfL services, including the Overground and the DLR, by one of the 500 enforcement officers across the network. However, they will not be facing fines any longer as without legislation in place to make them mandatory the British Transport Police cannot enforce mask-wearing on public transport.

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Sources

• Text: This piece was first published in PMP Magazine on 19 January 2022.
• Cover: Wikimedia/Kwh1050. Notting Hill gate Underground station during the May 2020 lockdown. (Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.)