Mandatory wearing of face masks in shops could put people off spending money locally, NI retailers warn

Making face masks mandatory in shops could put people off shopping, organisations representing Northern Ireland’s retailers have said.
Wearing face masks whilst out shoppingWearing face masks whilst out shopping
Wearing face masks whilst out shopping

Glyn Roberts, Retail NI and Simon Hamilton, Belfast Chamber, spoke out after meeting the first and deputy first ministers last night to discuss Covid-19 and the high street recovery.

They said that the retail sector remained “in a fragile place”.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Retailers have invested considerable amounts of money in making their shops safe for staff and customers and would be more than willing to work with the executive on a campaign to increase the voluntary wearing of face coverings,” they said in a joint statement.

“But we made clear to the first minister and deputy first minister our concern that their mandatory wearing could adversely affect trade and generate serious issues around enforcement.”

The statement said that high streets and city centres were beginning to recover and it was essential that nothing is done which might discourage shoppers.

The joint statement from Belfast Chamber Chief Executive Simon Hamilton and Retail NI Chief Executive Glyn Roberts added that they “put forward the need for the establishment of a multi departmental High Streets Taskforce, working with Councils and business to regenerate our high streets and city centres, rebuild our retail sector and to plan for office-based workers to safely return to their place of work”.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

They added: “Retail is our biggest employer and a major part of towns and cities across the region.

“It faces a huge number of challenges and we need to address those now so that our sector can continue to significantly contribute to our local economy”.

The joint statement added: “Slowly but surely our high streets and city centres are beginning to recover so it is essential that we ensure that nothing is done which would discourage shoppers from returning to them.”

--- A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news on this free-to-read site, I am asking you to also please purchase a copy of our newspaper whenever you are able to do so.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspaper when you can safely.

You can also enjoy unlimited access to the best news from across Northern Ireland and the UK by subscribing to newsletter.co.uk With a digital subscription, you can read more than five articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit https://www.newsletter.co.uk/subscriptions now to sign up.

Thank you