The Guardian view on protecting the public: cover your face | Editorial

Scotland is right to mandate masks or similar coverings in shops. Wearing them can save lives

Wicked. Horrific. An affront to British liberties. Proposals to make wearing seatbelts compulsory were angrily opposed in the early 1970s. Some warned that it might make motorists more reckless, or endanger unborn babies. MPs claimed there was no real evidence of the benefits. Others complained it would be uncomfortable for women or the elderly. It took years of political battle to change the law, saving tens of thousands of lives.

In retrospect, the outrage looks not merely mistaken but utterly bizarre. Wearing a seatbelt is simply a matter of course now. Yet similar claims have been heard in this pandemic when it comes to wearing masks. The World Health Organization insisted there was not enough evidence to recommend their routine use, changing its advice only last month. Other officials warned that mask-wearers might be lulled into a false sense of security, and would fail to distance themselves from others. There was real and understandable concern that mass purchases would leave no protection for medics and other frontline workers who desperately needed it. But this disparagement of masks may have come at a cost.