When I first heard the news that Boris Johnson had reportedly ‘coughed and spluttered’ during a recent performance of Macbeth without wearing a face covering for part of the performance, I wondered why he doesn’t seem to want to wear a mask.

Downing Street didn’t deny that Johnson had not worn a mask and simply said he ‘follows all Covid rules’.

But this latest incident comes about after the PM was pictured not wearing one during his recent visit to a hospital while accompanied by NHS staff who were masked – for which he apologised but explained he wasn’t wearing a mask for ‘barely 30 seconds’ – or on public transport, or even when sitting next to 95-year-old David Attenborough at COP26.

As a professor of neonatal medicine at Imperial College London, I know that some people don’t wear masks because they think they’re ineffective. Others just can’t be bothered, or think they’re immune to infection.

Whatever the reason, it’s unhelpful during a devastating pandemic.

Most people understand the benefits of mask-wearing and do so willingly, especially if they see others doing it. Personally, I wear a mask on public transport, at work and in shops and crowded places.

Wearing a simple mask won’t eliminate infection but it will reduce the spread of viruses – whether that’s Covid-19, flu, or the common cold – in droplets from coughing, spluttering, sneezing, and talking.

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And even wearing a mask intermittently and taking it off – for example to enable someone to lip-read, or see your face – is better than not wearing one at all. It’s a simple act that has enormous community value.

Yet, in the UK, wearing a mask in crowded, public places remains optional. Official figures are that 144,000 people have lost their lives to Covid-19 to date and the death toll continues inexorably upwards. 

Many more have lost their livelihoods, or their health to long Covid, which causes symptoms that last weeks or months after the infection has gone. If wearing a mask could save even one life or livelihood, why wouldn’t one do so? If the PM led by example, more people would wear masks and everyone would be safer. 

The British Medical Association has urged the Government to promote mask-wearing in enclosed communal spaces – including public transport, hospitals and general practices, venues and crowded shops. But mixed messages from the Government have led to reports of transport workers and healthcare staff being abused verbally and physically for asking people to wear masks.

Doctors in places like Northern Ireland are reporting an increasing number of people who are refusing to wear face coverings, even when attending hospital. Instead of coming together, we are being driven apart.

A US study released this month shows that States that introduced mask-wearing appear to have achieved the greatest effect on reduced numbers of new cases when compared with States that did not adopt such measures.

Societal acceptance and a sense of communal action to achieve a common goal is important. Surely the PM wants the country to rally together to defeat Covid-19?

Those who don’t wear a mask in public places undermine the seriousness of Covid-19, demonstrate hubris that will disproportionately harm the most vulnerable, and ignore an opportunity to bring the UK public together in a sense of shared purpose.

Covid-19 has affected everyone, but some far more than others; it has widened inequities at a time when the government talks of ‘levelling-up’.

For example, the Office for National Statistics has shown that people living in the most disadvantaged areas of the UK are 2.2 times more likely to die from Covid-19 than those in the least disadvantaged areas. Why would anyone wish to exacerbate the tragedies of the pandemic by not wearing a mask?

Many say that individuals should be trusted to make their own decisions, or that making mask-wearing mandatory would be counterproductive.

The PM himself said in a press conference in July that the country must ‘move from universal government diktat to relying on people’s personal responsibility’. But let’s not forget that if someone coughs over you, there’s not much you can do, especially if you are frail, or vulnerable.

Personal responsibility includes our responsibility to others, and this includes wearing masks.

At the end of the day, setting an example is a powerful aspect of leadership. Prime Minister, this message is for you.

Professor Neena Modi is a member of Keep Our NHS Public, a national organisation campaigning for a well-funded and wholly public NHS.

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