As I’m sure you are all aware by now, the Coronavirus is spreading rapidly and has now mutated and formed a second strand, Wuhan virus, which unfortunately is spreading even more quickly than SARS did killing 770 people in the early 2000s. There are nearly 6000 confirmed cases to date and the death toll has risen to 132. It is spreading very fast as it is like normal flu and can spread during its incubation period before any symptoms appear making it highly contagious. It has also been confirmed that the virus is spread via droplets in coughs and sneezes so, therefore, is airborne. There have been 2 confirmed cases in France and 1 in Germany which has been confirmed as the first person-to-person transmission in Europe so it is only a matter of time before it reaches the UK.

As a result of this epidemic, we the proud security officers at Heathrow Airport are most at risk of catching this deadly virus, having to deal with hundreds of thousands of passengers on a daily basis, therefore, we have asked to be able to wear protective face masks. We all have people we love and want to protect and in my case, as a parent, I should have the right to protect myself and my family, especially my kids and elderly parents, who would be the most at risk. Unfortunately, so far the management has dug their heels in and has point black refused to allow us to wear them.

This petition is as a last resort since we have exhausted all other avenues after having spoken to many security managers and terminal security managers, with each one shutting us down completely. We are not giving up and we demand to be heard as we have the right to feel safe and protected in our work environment and at the moment as it stands, we don't. We feel very strongly that this is the time to take preventative action and be able to wear a protective face mask before the unthinkable happens.

So please support us in our plight in persuading the Heathrow Airport management to allow us, the security officers, to wear the masks by signing this petition.