Sainsbury's, Tesco, Vue ask customers to keep wearing masks in England after July 19

Several shops, travel firms and cinemas will continue asking people to wear a face covering as the UK Government scraps the majority of Covid-19 restrictions next week.

Boris Johnson’s ministers look set to go ahead with the move despite new figures showing that coronavirus infections are continuing to rise, with one in 95 in England said to have the virus according to the Office for National Statistics.

READ MORE: Covid update Scotland: 2047 new virus cases and five deaths recorded

Data shows that at the same point last year, in the week to July 12, one in 2300 people were estimated to have Covid-19.

Professor James Naismith, director of the Rosalind Franklin Institute at from the University of Oxford, said it was a “reasonable assumption” that cases will continue to grow and will accelerate after Monday’s further easing of restrictions in England.

These are the companies still asking their customers to wear a mask in England from Monday.

Supermarkets

Shop union Usdaw’s general secretary has criticised the UK Government’s approach to changing the rules, saying unions and employers had not been consulted. The new system puts the onus on supermarkets to decide whether mask use will be encouraged.

• Sainsbury’s will continue encouraging customers to wear a mask. “Our colleagues’ safety is vital and many of our colleagues would feel more comfortable if those who can wear face coverings continue to wear them,” said Simon Roberts, the company’s chief executive. “We’ve listened closely to our customers too and they are telling us the same.”
• Tesco will also continue asking customers to wear a mask. “We’re asking our customers and colleagues to be on the safe side,” said a spokesperson.
• Waitrose will “recommend” shoppers wear a face mask but added it’s a decision for “each individual to take”.
• Lidl will use signs at entrances to remind shoppers to wear masks.
• Asda will “encourage customers to be respectful to each other and to follow the Government’s guidance on face coverings”.
• Aldi will encourage customers and workers to wear face coverings in stores.

Other shops

• John Lewis, Primark, Wilko, B&Q, Argos, Boots and Ikea are among other stores continuing to encourage the use of face masks after July 19.

Cinemas

• Vue Cinemas, the UK’s third-largest chain, said staff and customers will be encouraged to wear masks unless eating and drinking, while enhanced safety measures like increased disinfecting will continue.
• Showcase Cinemas will retain some social distancing measures in England and will continue asking guests and staff to wear masks. “We know that coronavirus cases are still rising in the UK, and with the Government’s easing of restrictions from Monday, we want to give our guests peace of mind at all times,” said the firm’s general manager Mark Barlow.
• Curzon, a smaller chain, will retain social distancing and ask customers to wear masks in public areas to “ensure peace of mind” for guests.
• Cineworld will only encourage staff to wear face coverings from Monday. They say social distancing will “continue to be implemented locally where applicable”.

Travel firms

• The Rail Delivery Group has said domestic railway operators including Avanti West Coast, LNER, Northern, TransPennine Express and CrossCountry Trains, will continue asking customers to wear masks “if an indoor setting is busy”, as the UK Government recommends.
• Transport for London will continue requiring people to wear face coverings
• EasyJet says face masks must still be worn at the airport, when boarding aircraft and throughout flights unless a person has an exemption.
• Ryanair says customers must continue to wear masks in the airport and on flights.
• British Airways says masks will be required at all times unless a person has an exemption.
• TUI says wearing a face covering is a condition of carriage even after July 19.
• Virgin Atlantic will continue to require customers to wear face masks after Monday.