WHY NOT MORE FACE COVERINGS ON PUBLIC TRANSPORT? (Updated 22 May)Plus a review of Government communication of Rules and Measures

Waiting for the bus

I’ve just had an unplanned bus tour of the infamous Blackbird Leys estate.   In 1991 it hit the headlines for the riots when police cracked down on a joy-riding craze.

It reminds me of estates in my industrial home town.  Blackbird Leys  is an estate of mainly terraced houses, the occasional semi, but nothing posh.  It was purpose-built from the 1950s to clear city centre slums and house workers for the nearby Morris Motors factory.

The point is that I was the only person on the bus who was wearing a face covering or mask of any kind.  Yet the advice from the government is to wear one whenever on public transport.

It was only as we got closer into the city that people were getting on wearing facemasks.  Every single one of them.

Why such a difference?

[Update: On the journey back, only one other passenger had a face  covering.  The first journey certainly wasn't a one-off.]

Blackbird Leys is staunchly Labour and I would imagine mainly at the lower end of the pay scale.  I’ve worked with many people with that background, on building sites, farms and in offices.  They can be great people.  They aren’t stupid, but nor are they graduate types.

Those who got on later were clearly more middle class.

Even so, why such a difference in whether people were wearing face coverings?

COMMUNICATION BY GOVERNMENT

PM Johnson has suggested that people should “use common sense”.  That’s fine if they have previous experience. But this is a new virus that needs a different response. 

My bus trip shows “common sense” alone is not enough.  People need education and advice.

So what have the general population been given in those terms?

Press Conferences

Let’s look first at what was announced in the daily press conferences.  PM Johnson announced modest changes to lockdown on Sunday 10^th May, and then presented the set of anti-transmission Measures on 11^th May:

• No mention of face coverings on slide 3
• Nor 12^th
•  Nor 13^th, as Measures slide replaced by Rules slide
  
• On 14^th the Rules slide disappeared (and hasn't been seen since).  The Measures slide reappeared with this added: “If you can, wear a face covering in enclosed spaces”.  Nothing about public transport:
  
• On 15^th no change
• 16^th – 19^th still no change
• 20th still no change, but at least Matt Hancock mentioned "public transport" in his commentary

Face coverings on public transport were first talked about as official government advice as reported by the BBC on Monday 11^th.  So why not clearly on the slides in the press conferences?

How are people expected to know the Rules and anti-transmission Measures if they are not told clearly, and preferably repeatedly?  Not everyone sees every broadcast.

These presentational  aspects of the press conferences are utterly inadequate.  Like a year 12 school project gone horribly wrong.

On the Gov.uk Website

This is what appears on the gov.uk home page for this coronavirus .  Nothing about face coverings.

Digging deep into  the site, I found the following section 10 .  No visuals to accompany the words. No proper explanation of the “My mask protects you, and your mask protects me” principle.  And just a cursory reference to public transport:

10. Face coverings

If you can, wear a face covering in an enclosed space where social distancing isn’t possible and where you will come into contact with people you do not normally meet. This is most relevant for short periods indoors in crowded areas, for example, on public transport or in some shops.

Evidence suggests that wearing a face covering does not protect you. However, if you are infected but have not yet developed symptoms, it may provide some protection for others you come into close contact with.

Face coverings do not replace social distancing. If you have symptoms of COVID-19 (cough, and/or high temperature, and/or loss of, or change in, your normal sense of smell or taste - anosmia), you and your household must isolate at home: wearing a face covering does not change this.

A face covering is not the same as the surgical masks or respirators used by healthcare and other workers as part of personal protective equipment. These should continue to be reserved for those who need them to protect against risks in their workplace, such as health and care workers, and those in industrial settings, like those exposed to dust hazards.

Face coverings should not be used by children under the age of 2 or those who may find it difficult to manage them correctly. For example, primary age children unassisted, or those with respiratory conditions.

It is important to use face coverings properly and wash your hands before putting them on and taking them off.

Digging further I also found this about making a face covering at home .  No videos, and nothing like the multi-layer covering recommended by the US CDC .  Nor the use of kitchen paper towel to better catch water droplets that could be carrying viruses, as for some mask designs..

Elsewhere on the Gov.uk site where Measures are listed, not one other mention of Face Coverings.

This advice is poor and hidden.  Utterly pathetic.

On the NHS website

The NHS website is focused principally on COVID-19 as an illness.  But it does have this:

How to stop the infection spreading

There are also other things you can do to help reduce the risk of you and other people getting ill with coronavirus:

No graphics, no advice on how to make a face covering.  But at least face coverings are listed, and “public transport” mentioned

Government Radio Advert

Friday 22 May - Just heard an advert on Spotify, which I assume is being used on radio.  Nothing about face coverings.

Government Newspaper Adverts

On 14 May, every national and local newspaper I saw on sale had a 4-page cover dedicated to what the public should do.  No mention of face coverings on the cover nor inside.  But this wasn't added to the press conference slides until later that day:

Front of a 4-page cover to most newspapers 14 May

By today, 22 May, I might have hoped the full-page advert in our local paper would have mentioned face coverings.  But it didn't.  What it did have didn't even include graphics:

Full-page advert in local paper 22 May

Pitiful.

NEWSPAPERS AND OTHER MEDIA

Blackbird Leys is the sort of housing estate where the Red Tops like the Mirror, Sun, Star, Express and Mail are more likely to be read than the Times or Telegraph. (Other newspapers are available.)

Let’s look at some of the front pages and the web sites…

The collection of front pages can be seen here, starting at Thursday 7 May, when the media first got wind of lockdown easing.  Once you're there, click on the date down below the images to see how they changed each day from just before PM Johnson’s presentation on 10^th to today.

Several newspapers did the country no favours by giving the impression before Jphnson's presentation that lockdown was ending. Yet keeping R down is key to avoid a second peak and a second lockdown.  And thus avoiding more deaths, more economic damage and more social problems.

These front pages don’t include the Sun, Times or Sunday Times.  Presumably some issue as these are the three Murdoch News International papers.  Nor the Financial Times.

No obvious mention of face coverings on front pages.  I wouldn’t expect that in the headline.  But there may have been some mention on the front page of public transport, or a “How to make a face covering” feature highlighted.  Nothing.

As to websites, The Mail's has nothing obvious about face coverings and public transport

The Mirror highlighted on their printed fron page on Tuesday 19^th “Lockdown Britain – It’s Chaos”

But nothing obvious on the Mirror website about face coverings. 

Other websites are available.  Do comment below this posting if you find anything. 

As to the BBC's website there is an article called “Lockdown update: All you need to know about new measures” of 18 May. This covers both the new Rules and the anti-transmission Measures. This includes:

“Those who do use buses or trains are being told to expect social-distance queueing and to wear face coverings.”

And this report on face coverings on Monday 11th May

WHAT ARE OTHER COUNTRIES DOING?

I've mentioned the advice on making and wearing available in the USA, above.  

South-east Asian countries have been relatively good at reducing the COVID-19 outbreak and minimising deaths.  There are several reasons for this, but one is it is commonplace to wear face coverings.

Today’s PMQs highlighted that Germany has had a few thousand deaths, but South Korea just a few hundred.  Whilst both have been good at test/trace/isolate, the key difference is that South Koreans wear masks and face coverings. 

Indeed this is Thailand’s Measures slide.  Face coverings come first, and the graphic is clear, including the title:

Shouldn’t we be doing the same in the UK?  Indeed right from the start?

And now remember that if R rises over 1, we're headed to another formal lockdown.  We desperately need people to comply with the social distancing rules, in which face coverings are important.

There is no excuse for poor presentation on Rules or the set of anti-transmission Measures.  Yet poor presentation os what we have.  The media needs to play its part.  But so does the government.