What the hell are the Government doing with this issue ?

It's either helpful for people to cover their faces, to help prevent the spread of Covid or it's not.
The "we trust the public" line is just crazy.

This needs to be an absolute instruction or not

It would appear that there is conflicting evidence so the government plan is "do what you want"

That's exactly the plan. The onus is on us. It always has been.

There has been so much conflicting evidence, though. Face coverings don't offer any protection. Wear a face covering if you want to. Don't wear a face covering. No need to wear a face covering. Face coverings are effective. Maybe wear a face covering while out shopping. Wear a face covering on public transport. Face coverings could become mandatory. Face coverings won't become mandatory. Face coverings should be left to the common sense of the individual. Face coverings could be made mandatory if people don’t wear them out of choice.

It’s like stay at home don’t go on public transport, now the economy (sandwich shops) needs people to go to work and use public transport. With the litany of errors right from the start you would hope by now they will have got their act together. I am of course not surprised with Johnson and this cabinet that it lurches from one disaster to another.
I can’t wait until they start Brexit because those that expect a streamlined operation are in for a shock.

The problem with selling face coverings to the masses is that it's an altruistic action not a self-preservation one. You wear one to stop yourself passing it on, rather than to prevent you catching it.

Maybe so but, but if people wearing them, helped everyone else avoid catching the virus it should be a no brainer and government should lead on this.
IF the evidence is there to show that wearing face coverings helps stop the spread, they should bloody well act and get off the fence.
Right now, they are just dithering and delaying, instead of leading.
We probably shouldn't be surprised but, yet again, it's amateur time in Downing Street.

I largely agree. I suppose my point is that no matter how misty-eyed we get about just how wonderful we've all been during lockdown, the fact of the matter is we absolutely cannot be trusted to exercise discretion. We might do the right thing out of self-interest but probably not feel the same about protecting everyone else. I'm not a fan of the nanny-state by any means but Bournemouth, Soho and so many other things suggests that Britain needs to be told to do the right thing not asked. So I agree society is utterly incapable of being sensible without government diktat in my opinion.

Y’all happy now - message now loud and clear, in a week and a halfs time

Up to £100 fines enforced by the police. Let's see who the rules really apply to...

Why the ten day wait? Are there not currently enough masks to go around?

He’s probably wants to check with Cummings to make sure he is doing the right thing.

Can’t believe the amount of idiots complaining about wearing masks - we have reached American levels of stupidity.

I wonder if Johnson’s promise of an independent inquiry into their handling of the pandemic will be the same as the one he promised to undertake regarding islamaphobia in the Conservative party I.e. not at all