Coronavirus news – live: Face coverings will not be made in compulsory in shops, Michael Gove says as Herefordshire farm in lockdown
Face coverings will not be made mandatory in shops, Michael Gove said – two days after Boris Johnson hinted that England could copy Scotland by introducing the rule.
The cabinet office minister also stepped up calls for people to return to work following reports that the government was set to ease restrictions on using public transport.
It came as a Herefordshire farm went into lockdown after 73 vegetable pickers tested positive for coronavirus. The 200 staff are being kept in isolation in mobile homes at the site.
Meanwhile Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon said she would be prepared to impose a border quarantine with England to prevent the spread of the virus if necessary, though there were no “immediate plans” to do so.
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