More than 100 top doctors have backed calls for the public to wear homemade face masks when they leave their homes.
They signed a letter saying they were 'increasingly alarmed at official inaction over the need for the public to wear face masks'.
Ministers could make a decision this week on whether to order the use of protective equipment for millions of Britons in the workplace and on public transport.
The doctors spoke out ahead of a meeting of the Government's scientific advisers tomorrow to review evidence on whether masks should be made compulsory.