Home-made face covering made from the fabric of a sari, of the type used during the COVID-19 pandemic, UK, 2020

In June 2020, England first made face coverings mandatory on public transport and a month later, they became compulsory in indoor settings like supermarkets. In both cases, there were medical exemptions that applied. Particularly when face coverings were first required, many people made their own or used masks that others had handmade. There were many different patterns available to make face coverings. This example has a slot to add a filter and was made to fit the wearer’s beard. There was concern during the pandemic that beards and facial hair would reduce the seal around a face covering and therefore limit its effectiveness. By having space for the beard within the face covering, this example tries to avoid that issue.

Hands, Face, Space was introduced as the government’s slogan for its COVID-19 strategy in September 2020 – emphasising the importance of face coverings to the government’s plans. Scientific research has found that wearing a face covering is effective at reducing the spread of COVID-19.