Do people already wear face masks? ‘We think it will get a bit more every day’

Yesterday, the high word suddenly came out in the House of Representatives: the cabinet advises everyone to wear a face mask in the public interior space. The directive for this is not expected until tomorrow evening, so much is still unclear.

For example, it is an urgent advice, not an obligation, but shops are allowed to refuse customers who do not wear a mouth mask. In practice, shops usually let it depend on the customers, according to a tour of the large sector organizations.

For example, the CBL, the representative of the supermarkets, sees that more mouth masks are being worn this week “little by little”. That actually started from Monday, when Prime Minister Rutte announced that in large cities, wearing a mouth mask was recommended in shops, and therefore also in supermarkets.

“There are supermarkets where about 60 percent of the shoppers now wear a cap and 40 percent do not. In other places it is exactly the other way around”, says Liane ter Maat of the CBL. “But it has been considerably more in recent days than before.”

The trade association supports the cabinet’s appeal, but still advises supermarkets not to make caps mandatory in shops. Ter Maat: “We do not want to have to discuss a cap with customers. Employees are already sometimes treated unfriendly when they point out the rules to people. Moreover, it is not up to the supermarkets to take such corona measures.”

‘A little more every day’

Retailers in the retail sector recognize the picture outlined by the CBL. Shoppers in the shopping street are also slowly getting used to the idea that a cap is desirable.

According to the Dutch Retail Council (RND) it is still too early to apply percentages to the number of customers who carry a mouth mask as standard. “We think it will get a little bit more every day,” says RND director Eus Peters.

“Last week, many people still felt uncomfortable in the store wearing a hood, now there is Rutte’s back cover,” adds Peters. “This is still a transition week. It has to become clear that we have to switch to a face mask society”.

In the retail sector, it is still a lot of time to find out how things should continue after this week. Some large chains such as drugstores and perfumeries require caps in the stores, but not every retailer wants to take such a drastic measure, even if they are allowed to. Retailers are reluctant because cabinet policy is an urgent advice, but not a hard guideline. Smaller entrepreneurs are also currently grappling with this dilemma, says the INretail trade association.

‘They must provide clarity’, people say on the street in Lelystad. Check out the comments:

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