Face masks: You may not want to cover your face, but you don't have right to put others at risk – Martyn McLaughlin

A slow take-up of the mandatory wearing of face coverings on public transport highlights issues of consent and collective responsibility in responding to Covid-19, writes Martyn McLaughlin

Face coverings became mandatory on all public transport from Monday, but the early signs suggest mixed levels of compliance.

On Monday evening, not even a full day after the wearing of face coverings become mandatory on public transport across Scotland, an official from First Bus highlighted how compliance with the new measure will be an uphill struggle.

While passengers boarding the firm’s services across some rural areas of the country were by and large happy to abide by the rule, with around 90 to 95 per cent of people wearing masks or coverings, the situation was markedly different in urban areas.

In parts of Glasgow, the uptake was as low as 50 to 55 per cent, a notably low figure, even after taking into account that as many as one in four people may be exempt from wearing a face covering due to underlying medical conditions.

It may well be the case that the messaging around mandatory use has yet to fully hit home, but such early signs are not promising, and it is concerning to think about the impact this resistance will have if it proves to be a long-term trend.

The most obvious one is the potential for increasing transmission of a virus which has yet to be brought under control. Despite early doubts over their effectiveness, there is a growing body of research which shows that wearing a mask or covering significantly reduces the risk of viral infection.

Like so much science around Covid-19, it is emerging and imperfect, in large part due to the fact that most studies have focused on healthcare, and not community settings. Yet while the research points to benefits for the wearer catching the virus, the most important point is that it helps to prevent those around the wearer from becoming infected.

Other dangers of a low uptake of face coverings or masks are unseen, not least the potential tor crippling public confidence in the use of shared modes of travel

It should not be understated just how important transport is to the economy, and while reopening key routes and services will allow people to get to and from their work, it counts for little if those asked to use them do not perceive their journey as safe.

Ministers can offer all the reassurances in the world, but if someone is vulnerable, or has a loved one at home who is at greater risk, the prospect of boarding a bus or train where only a minority of passengers are heeding the rule is a very unnerving one indeed.

Anyone who has frequented a supermarket of late will know first hand how government guidance can fall on deaf ears. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon advised as long ago as 28 April that members of the public should wear face coverings in enclosed spaces, but in the eight weeks since, it seems only a small minority are heeding her request. With a further tranche of retail outlets set to open in the next week, shoppers and staff have reason to feel uneasy.

For its part, First Bus has indicated that it would be helpful, at least in the early stages of bedding in the new measure, for police to be on hand to remind people that it is mandatory. In an ideal world, this would make sense, but as with so many of the rules surrounding Covid-19, practical difficulties make it near impossible to enforce it with any degree of rigour or consistency.

Ultimately, the issues at play are consent and collective responsibility. It has not been easy for anyone during the pandemic, and as the country continues slowly along the path out of lockdown - a process which can play a psychological trick and lull some into a false sense of security - things will only get more difficult.

I know of families who have already fallen out over the need to observe physical distancing, and employees now fearful for their future having expressly disobeyed the demands of their companies for the very good reason that to do so would put them, and their loved ones, in harm’s way.

The problem is that it only takes one individual to go against the wishes of a group to sow discord and unease. Plenty of people seem insistent upon bullishly exercising their personal liberty by refusing to wear a face covering because they simply don’t want to, but how many have asked themselves whether they have the right to put others at risk, or at the very least, heighten feelings of anxiety and stress that are already widespread?

There is no easy way around this, and save for a second spike in infections and the prospect of the new rules becoming enshrined in legislation, it seems unlikely that there will be a sudden rush of people taking the decision to don face coverings so as to protect themselves and those around them.

I have found it useful, at least while shopping, to politely remind people to keep their distance, especially if they are not wearing a mask. The overwhelming majority do so. Others have required a long, hard stare, which I fully appreciate tends to be more effective if it comes from someone who is 6ft 5in. Either way, it is not pleasant to invite potential conflict, but if the price of maintaining my personal boundaries is the scorn or mocking of a stranger, I’m quite comfortable to pay it.

We may soon reach the stage where face coverings are not deemed necessary in order to help prevent the transmission of the virus, and I hope that day will arrive soon. In the meantime, however, it does not seem too big an ask for people to wear them when they are in a shop, or on public transport. You might not think it is called for, but you don’t have the right to make that decision for the person next to you.

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