Waiting for virus to spread before making masks mandatory “risky” says Rhun ap Iorwerth

RESPONDING to the news that Welsh Government will only make the wearing of face-covering mandatory in other places “if coronavirus starts to spread in Wales again,” Plaid Cymru Shadow Health Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth MS has said that Welsh Government “risks waiting for the horse to bolt before is closing the stable door”.

Rhun ap Iorwerth MS said,

“The Welsh Government approach is the wrong way round: face coverings should be seen as preventative above all, rather than a way cure. They’re best used to keep people safe now, rather than a tool to be used to help beat back the virus once it has taken hold again. Welsh Government risks waiting for the horse to bolt before is closing the stable door.

“Wales is now an outlier when it comes to mandating the wearing of face masks in shops, and I think that should also include other crowded public spaces. The Welsh Government’s reluctance to do so until the virus has once again taken hold undermines the cautionary principle that Welsh Government has wanted to follow, and it’s putting its citizens at more risk than needs be.”