MANDATORY MASK WEARING in hospitals and healthcare settings is to be scrapped later this month.

The Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HSPC) has said that healthcare workers can continue to wear masks in such settings if they wish.

The new guidance will come into effect on 19 April.

Staff and visitors are still advised to wear masks around patients who are confirmed or suspected to have Covid-19.

The HSPC guidance said that “masks should also be worn in settings where the infection prevention and control team advice indicates that there is a high risk that patients with unsuspected Covid-19 or respiratory viral infections are likely to be present.”

It added that, while masks were no longer required for healthcare workers in most settings, they should still be on hand to respect such workers’ preferences.

The new guidance applies outside “periods of high levels of community transmission”.