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Boris Johnson has said that people in England “should use” face shields in stores to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
Ministers can confirm on Tuesday that face coatings will be mandatory inside stores in England.
The comments follow Cabinet Minister Michael Gove telling the BBC on Sunday that covers should not be mandatory in such situations.
Labor has demanded “urgent clarity” from the government on the issue.
And the head of Waterstones bookstores, James Daunt, said “it would not be right” to ask store workers to “monitor” any new policy.
Masks and other facial covers are used to help prevent users from spreading the coronavirus, rather than contracting it.
They are currently compulsory on public transport in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and the Welsh government is ready to apply the same measure as of July 27.
In Scotland coatings are also mandatory in stores, but not in other parts of the UK, and critics have complained that the situation in England should be easier for the public to understand.
Analysis by Helen Catt, political correspondent.
The signs seem to point to the government making facial coatings mandatory in more parts of England, but ministers seem reluctant to compromise yet.
Michael Gove’s preference for trying to encourage people to take voluntary action, rather than fear of enforcement, is one that we have seen the government repeat during the pandemic.
But the risk involved is mixed messages. Previously, when the coronavirus was more widespread, it said that the scientific evidence for wearing covers was not clear enough. Now, he says, the evidence is stronger.
Of course, the scientific understanding of the virus is constantly developing, so policies are likely to do so as well.
However, if the government now thinks covers are the way to go, getting that message across without confusion will be key.
The World Health Organization says homemade masks and face cloth covers should be worn in public, where social distancing is not possible to reduce the spread of coronavirus drops.
He changed his advice last month, having previously argued that there was not enough scientific evidence to say that healthy people should use them.
Visiting ambulance personnel in central London, Johnson, whose government controls health policy in England but not in the rest of the UK, said: “I think people should use [face coverings] in stores
“And, in terms of how we do it, whether we make it mandatory or not, we will see the guide, we will see a little more in the coming days.”
Johnson added: “Throughout this crisis, people have shown incredible sensitivity to other people and an understanding of the needs to reduce the virus by doing things cooperatively.”
“Wearing masks is one of them … It is a mutual thing; people do see the value of that. In the next few days we will see exactly how, with what application tools, we think we want to move forward.”
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The statement follows some confusion over the government’s intentions in recent days.
The prime minister said on Friday: “I think we should be more strict in insisting that people cover their faces in tight spaces where they meet people they don’t normally know.”
But on Sunday, Cabinet Office Minister Mr Gove told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show that he did not believe the use of coatings in stores in England was mandatory, adding that it would “encourage” the practice ” where they are likely to mix with each other and where ventilation may not be as good as it could be. “
He added that it was “good basic manners, courtesy and consideration,” to wear a face mask “if you are, for example, in a store.”
Recent findings from the polling company YouGov suggest that 36% of people in the UK wear face covers in public places, compared to 86% in Spain, 83% in Italy and 82% in China.
Shadow Work Secretary of Health Jonathan Ashworth said “conflicting advice and conflicting government statements only hinder our fight against the virus.”
She has written to Health Secretary Matt Hancock asking him to “urgently expose the position of the facial covers.”
“As the closing rules are further relaxed this week, it is vital that the government publish an updated guideline on this issue without delay,” Ashworth added.
Paddy Lillis, secretary general of the Usdaw store workers union, said the “mixed messages” on the face covers “were not helpful” to staff.
