Face masks are legally required in estate and letting agents from today after the government extended the list of settings at which they will be mandatory.
New guidance published last night said coverings will be needed in estate agents, loan providers, as well as auction houses.
They will also be needed in personal care, beauty salons, tattoo parlours, and takeaways, along with taxis, private hire vehicles and driving instruction cars or vans.
The rules, which came into force at 4am this morning will be reviewed in three weeks. Non-compliance will be punishable with a fine of £200 for a first offence, which will double on each subsequent offence up to a maximum of £6,400.
The Government has introduced the new measures in a bid to help prevent the spread of the omicron variant of Covid-19.
Prime minister Boris Johnson described the new measures as “proportionate and responsible and will buy us time in the face of this new variant”.
Comments (12)
Be a lot easier to just say ‘indoors’
not property related but I’m yet to see any guidance for sporting events; Tesco you need a mask but 60,000 in a football stadium is fine
Tesco: Indoors
Football Stadia: Outdoors
And when I am at a Spurs Thursday there will be 60000 standing close to each other all shouting and singing
And the pubs will be absolutley mobbed woth people singing
Priming us all for the imminent vaccine passports.
Good – about time
Lets hope so.
All businesses no matter whether mentioned or not will notify customers of their rules. It’s all about saving lives and giving us freedom.
Freedom? Oh yeah, freedom like we were told the vaccines would give us.
it s the anti vax scum who are keeping this going – putting hospital staff at risk – delaying other treatment for other patients
My family have just had Covid. I have to say that being double jabbed meant our symptoms were far less severe than many suffered at the start of the pandemic – It works people!!
Freedom? You mean three weeks to flatten the curve? Almost two years later and we are gradually sliding further and further into a totalitarian state – that’s what you mean by freedom?
Life is very short and not without risk on a daily basis. Freedoms lost are seldom won back. 1930s Germany had a saying along the lines of ‘it’s for your own safety.’ Look how that turned out!
Our firm operates some of the most Covid secure working practices in our area, so some clients tell us to their apparent annoyance as they complete our track and trace forms to view etc. We do it, we get on with it. But when people blame so called anti-vaxers or go on about getting our freedoms back… No. At some point you have to say enough is enough and just get on with life, it’s too short not too. Almost two years now. Two years! You don’t get that time back!
Oh and I’ve had Covid by the way. Mid 2020. Nasty thing, like a really intense flu but with other side effects, but my immune system got me through it and hopefully I’ve now got antibodies.
We will keep using track & Trace forms for viewers, still social distance, still wear PPE, and all the other procedures we’ve had constantly in place period since agency was allowed to operate again last year. We will continue to do our bit to protect clients and staff. But it certainly isn’t getting our Freedoms back!
Take care everyone, and be mutually tolerant of everyone’s individual choices in life – that’s Freedom.
Unless I am missing something, the list does not include solicitors:
The public and staff in public facing areas will be required to wear face coverings in these settings from 4am on 30 November 2021: shops and supermarkets (places that offer goods or services for retail sale or hire)
shopping centres (malls and indoor markets)
auction houses
post offices, banks, building societies, credit unions, short-term loan providers, savings clubs and money service businesses
estate and letting agents
premises providing personal care and beauty treatments (barbers, hair salons, tattoo and piercing studios, nail salons, massage centres)
pharmacies
premises providing veterinary services
retail galleries
retail travel agents
takeaways without space for consumption of food or drink on premises
public transport (aeroplanes, trains, trams and buses), taxis and private hire vehicles
any car, van or HGV, during a professional driving lesson, a formal driving test, or during one of the practical tests for giving driving instruction
Updated guidance will be published soon.