From Monday 15 June, commuters in England must wear face coverings while on public transport to comply with new Government rules to help prevent the spread of coronavirus. Tara Pilkington reports.
Following the introduction of these new rules, more than 3,000 extra staff, including police officers, have been deployed to stations to ensure people comply. Those not wearing a face covering will be asked to wear one or will risk being refused access to public transport and fined £100.
However, many charities for deaf people are calling for more see-through masks to be available to help those who are deaf or hard of hearing communicate with others during the pandemic.
Charities have said that the growing use of face coverings is causing communication difficulties among the 12 million people in the UK who are deaf or have some form of hearing loss.
Ayla Ozmen, head of research and policy at Action on Hearing Loss, has said: “The main issue is that people who are deaf and have hearing loss rely heavily on visual clues for effective communication – that includes body language, gestures, facial expression and lip-reading,”
They added: “British sign language (BSL) users also rely heavily on seeing lip patterns as well as facial expressions to understand BSL.”
Regarding how this may cause difficulties for those who suffer from hearing loss if they have to see a healthcare professional during the coronavirus pandemic, Ozmen added: “There has been no guidance from the government on how to handle that conflict in both health settings and social care settings”.
