Iceland boss says they won’t enforce mask-wearing in stores

Iceland bosses said that their staff will not enforce mask-wearing in their stores after England reintroduced their Covid rules to come in line with Wales.

From today people in England face fines of £200 for refusing to wear a mask when required – doubling after each offence. Mask wearing is already mandatory in Wales.

Managing director of the frozen food chain, Richard Walker said they would instead be focusing on the “long-term recovering of the high street., according to Wales Online.

READ MORE: Health Security Agency boss says people need to socialise less to stop spread of Covid Omicron variant

The supermarket chain, whose headquarters are based in Deeside, said staff on the shop floor should not be asked to intervene when they spot someone without a mask and that Iceland staff would not be policing the policy in their stores.

He told the Daily Mail: “We fully support the reintroduction of compulsory face masks in shops, however, we won’t be asking our store colleagues to police it.

“Our store teams, alongside all retail workers, have shown heroic efforts in terms of ensuring safety for customers and building back consumer confidence and it’s crucial that we stay focused on the long-term recovery of the high street.

“We need to continue to encourage people to shop in stores if they feel comfortable, and I’m hopeful that the latest guidelines won’t discourage customers from doing so.”

The Co-op has also said that they would not be enforcing face coverings in their stores.

The British Retail Consortium said that it is up to the police to enforce the rules, adding: “Customers are asked to respect the rules and be considerate to their fellow shoppers and to hard-working shop staff.”

The new rules are part of measures to combat the new Omicron variant of coronavirus.

Face coverings are again compulsory in England in shops and settings such as banks, post offices, hairdressers, and public transport, while all travellers returning to the UK must take a PCR test and self-isolate until they receive a negative result.

All contacts of suspected Omicron cases must self-isolate, regardless of their age or vaccination status.

Have your say in our comment section below.