'Mask-wearing must continue in pharmacies'

Royal Pharmaceutical Society in England has called for mask-wearing to continue in pharmacies.

Thorrun Govind, chair of English Pharmacy Board, said that pharmacists and their teams who have been on the frontline of healthcare throughout the pandemic "must be provided with the support and protection they deserve".

She said: “It’s particularly important that community pharmacies are fully recognised by government and the public as healthcare settings where vulnerable and ill people come to collect their medicines."

A debate around mask-wearing in England has sparked after the government announced on Monday (July 5) that it would no longer be a legal requirement to wear face coverings once Covid restrictions are removed on July 19.

Govind added: “The use of face masks and social distancing in pharmacies and other healthcare settings should remain," because "Covid has not disappeared."

She continued: “Pharmacists at risk of coming into contact with Covid positive patients must be fully protected and provided with FFP3 masks when seeing patients.

“It’s vital that mask wearing continues by the public and pharmacists in this environment to protect each other.”