Over a hundred attend council meeting without a face mask

Over a hundred people attended a Buckinghamshire Council meeting last week yet only a handful wore a face mask, pictures reveal.

A video of the meeting held on 24^th November in Aylesbury, available on the council’s website, shows 114 attendees packed shoulder-to-shoulder in a meeting room, with hardly anyone wearing a mask.

This seems to contradict guidance from the Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing, Angela Macpherson, who listed mask-wearing as one of “the most important things people can do” in a statement provided to Bucks Radio on 20^th October this year.

The current Covid-19 case rate in Buckinghamshire for Week ending 27^th November is 562.1 per 100,000 of the population – 29% higher than the UK as a whole at 435.6.

On 24^th November, 149 people were reported to have died with Covid-19 across the country. It was also the day that South Africa reported the existence of the new variant of concern, Omicron.

Just 72 hours after the Buckinghamshire Council meeting, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that mask-wearing would become mandatory in shops and on public transport in England, in response to the threat posed by Omicron.

The new measures bring England in line with those already in place across most of Europe, including the rest of the UK.

The first global study of mask-wearing published on 18^th November in the British Medical Journal showed that mask-wearing correlated with a 53% reduction in Covid-19 incidence.

Councillor Carl Jackson, Deputy Cabinet Member for Public Health, said:

"Our Public Health team confirmed there was no reason under current government guidance not to hold the 24th November Full Council meeting at The Gateway. Prior to the meeting, a risk assessment was carried out and precautions such as providing each member’s desk with hand sanitizer were implemented. Additionally, all attendees were informed and recommended to take a lateral flow test before attending and face coverings were encouraged. Anyone who had experienced Covid-19 symptoms during the previous 10 days were asked not to attend unless they subsequently had a negative PCR test result.

"Buckinghamshire Council cannot require Councillors to inform us if they fall into the vulnerable or extremely vulnerable categories regarding Covid-19, nor do we keep any information on councillors' medical status.  Should a Councillor fall into one of these categories then it is a personal decision for them to make as to whether or not to attend a public meeting.

"The wearing of face coverings is encouraged but cannot be mandated for public meetings under current national guidance."

[PICTURES BELOW: Council Meeting on 24th November]