Petition · past parliament

Make masks mandatory in all shopping and crowding spaces.

Rejected 21 signatures

What the petition asks

Make masks mandatory in all shopping centres, supermarkets, retail spaces and anywhere prone to crowding.
There are hundreds of people lining up for a single shop. A cough travels 6 metres, a sneeze travels 8 metres. Even with two metre markes the virus can be spreading amongst crowds of strangers.
People are reluctant to wear masks out of mere inconvenience. If it was mandatory with either a small fine or refusal of entry to a premesis without a mask, it would have a big impact on fighting the virus, allowing more of the country to open up safely.

Why it was rejected

There was already a petition about this issue. Duplicates are rejected so signatures collect in one place.

You may wish to sign this petition calling for the same action: Make it compulsory to wear a face covering in enclosed public spaces

You can find out more about coronavirus and how you can protect yourself and others here:

www.gov.uk/coronavirus
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/

The Government has also created an online service to help you find out what you can do if you’re struggling because of coronavirus: https://www.gov.uk/find-coronavirus-support

You can read NHS tips to help if you are worried about coronavirus here: https://www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters/coronavirus-covid-19-anxiety-tips

You can read impartial analysis of the Government response to coronavirus and policy developments here: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/coronavirus/

You may also be interested to know that because of the large number of petitions that have been started in relation to coronavirus, the Petitions Committee has been questioning the Government about its response to the coronavirus outbreak.

Find out more: https://committees.parliament.uk/work/192/the-governments-response-to-coronavirus/

Timeline

2 Jul 2020 Petition opened for signatures
21 Jul 2020 Rejected by the Petitions Committee

Key facts

Signatures 21
Status Rejected
Rejected 21 Jul 2020

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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.