People are once again being encouraged to wear face masks and stay at home if they feel unwell amid the current winter pressures and strain on the NHS. Due to the current rates of Covid, flu and Strap A in hospitals across the country, there is concern over how people can protect themselves and others.
Health bosses have warned of overcrowding in A&E departments across the country. Professor Susan Hopkins, Chief Medical Adviser at UKHSA, has advised people who feel ill to stay indoors and avoid visiting vulnerable people where they can and that mask-wearing was advisable.
Nottinghamshire Live went to Newark to ask people their thoughts on the advice which was once a mandatory requirement at the height of the coronavirus pandemic. Newark resident Julie Smith, 61, said: "My thoughts are I don't mind the advice but I don't like being told what to do.
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"Being given guidance I don't mind and being able to wear masks if you feel vulnerable. I don't think its making much difference at the moment, as there is a lot of cases around. We just have to be sensible and look after ourselves and others."
Retired Horace Staniland, 69, of Worksop, said: "Me and my wife are fully vaccinated and I have a mask in my pocket and my wife has one too. If we go anywhere and we feel a bit uncomfortable we put them on. If someone told me to wear one I would, and if someone told me not to wear one but I wanted to, then I would."
He added: "I can remember two or three years ago in lockdown when it was no more than six people allowed in public as a group." Market trader Jonny March, 53, of Grantham, said that whether someone wants to wear a mask or not was a personal choice.
He said: "I think it is up to the individual. I have not got a problem if people wear them or don't wear them, I am all jabbed up. The side effects of my last Covid booster were worse than Covid itself. I don't blame people for wearing one or not, I think we are stuck with Covid and have to live with it."
His friend Tony Hurst, 57, of Newark, added: "If you have it (Covid) use a bit of common sense. I'm an anti-vaxer myself, I've had Covid and I am still here, but I respect other people's opinions."
When asked for her thoughts on the situation, Tanya Maurice, 50, of Newark, said: "I don't know, I just feel it's a bit woolly at the minute. Everyone is saying one thing or something else.
"I would wear a mask again if I had to. I've just had Covid for the second time." Ms Maurice added that she has also recently had a flu jab, which is something she "would not normally do". She said: "I think we need to keep the pressure of the NHS where we can and do our bit."
Regarding protecting the vulnerable, she explained that she doesn't visit her elderly friends whenever she doesn't feel right as it's so important not to accidentally pass something along or put anyone at risk.
Friends John Gray, 75, and Richard Piper, 77, who are both retired and of Lincolnshire, agreed that they had noticed a recent rise in winter illnesses. Mr Gray explained that he was trying to keep away from people where possible because "it's only when you start getting close to people that it all spreads".
Regarding the guidance, Mr Piper said: "If you don't feel well then you should not go out." When asked if the pair were wearing masks again, he added: "Not at the moment. We did do before, we lived in them, they're horrible things.
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