Petition · past parliament · Department of Health and Social Care

Provide free face masks for everyone, and free N95 masks for vulnerable people

Closed 36 signatures

What the petition asks

Homemade cloth face masks are better than nothing, but they are a stopgap measure.

Provide free face masks for everyone, and provide N95 masks for vulnerable groups such as immunocompromised people, people with asthma, the elderly, etc.

This also ensures that masks are of good quality.
"Why Aren’t We Wearing Better Masks?", The Atlantic, 13/01/2021. https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2021/01/why-arent-we-wearing-better-masks/617656/

Quality of homemade face masks is inconsistent, and was necessary at the start of the pandemic before production was stepped up.

Countries providing free face masks to citizens (e.g. Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong) have a lower transmission rate.

Timeline

5 Feb 2021 Petition opened for signatures
5 Aug 2021 Closed to new signatures

Key facts

Signatures 36
Status Closed
Department Department of Health and Social Care
Opened 5 Feb 2021
Closed 5 Aug 2021

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