The problems with Boris Johnson’s mask mandate

Today the government has said that for the next three weeks it will be mandatory to wear masks in shops and on public transport, pending a review.

It was already mandatory to wear a mask on the tube, as a condition of travel. So to avoid mixing up ideas, let’s focus on the new mandate from the government: that people will have to wear masks in shops. Imposing a requirement that anyone entering a shop must wear a mask, whether the shop wants to accept them or not, is a straightforward imposition on human liberty.

We have accepted huge infringements upon our liberties over the past 21 months. We did so initially because there was an emergency situation, with a risk that the health service would be swamped, leading to hundreds of thousands of people dying unnecessarily for simple lack of treatment. Later we did so to buy time for the vulnerable to be vaccinated.