Police force won’t respond to calls about shoppers not wearing face masks
A POLICE force has become the first in the UK to admit it will not respond to calls about shoppers refusing to wear face masks.
Devon and Cornwall's police and crime commissioner said cops were far too busy to enforce the Covid-19 fighting law unless there was violence or disorder involved.
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New rules mean coverings must be worn in shops from Friday with those flouting the law in England facing a £100 fine.
But there is widespread confusion around how the rule will be enforced, after retailers said their staff should not be expected to intervene.
Amid criticism of inconsistent messaging on the issue, George Eustice, the Environment Secretary, last week said shops would have a "role to play".
But he admitted: "When it comes to that final sanction of issuing a penalty, that is something that only the police can do."
Alison Hernandez, police and crime commissioner for Devon and Cornwall admitting their force wouldn’t be able to tightly enforce the new rule.
She said: "We are moving back into ordinary policing.
"The expectation is that [officers] will only come if there is disorder or violence or something associated with it.
“They are not going to come to every phone call that someone is not wearing a mask.";
Last week, the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) suggested officers would only intervene over face masks as a "last resort".
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Meanwhile government insiders hinted that Brits could be walking into the new normal until a coronavirus vaccine is found.
One Cabinet source told the : “We are not doing this with a timeline in mind. This is part of the new normal.
“Until we get a vaccine we are going to have to be doing a lot of these things.
“We are not going to be doing this for a few weeks and then giving up. It’s part of a wider package of measures, such a social distancing.”
Another Government source added: “I don’t think anybody can know how long it will be but you have to assume we’ll be wearing masks for a while.”
It comes as the UK death toll hit 44,968 with 291,373 confirmed cases.
And deaths among shop workers were staggeringly 75 per cent higher for men and 60 per cent higher for women than among the general public, health secretary Matt Hancock revealed.
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