Rule-breakers never mentioned by the PM

PERHAPS I am old fashioned but why doesn’t Boris Johnson ever call out in the strongest of health terms those who have jeopardised our recovery by their irresponsible behaviour? Be it those who deliberately chose not to heed the advice to stay in last Friday night by putting their partying above all else or those who go around inciting others to throw caution to the wind. It is as though such actions by people do not happen with the rationale for a new lockdown only being attributed by the PM to the new variant.

Professor Sir Mark Walport of Sage recently said (Quotes of the day, Post, January 4): “It is thinking about breaking essentially every possible route of transmission we possibly can.” Exactly, so surely dangerous behaviour should be deterred before it happens not just by a fine at or after the event?

Face masks have been proven to break the route. So why haven’t they been made mandatory in open spaces such as in the high street and when waiting for a bus/ tram or lining up outside a bank/ shop? Not forgetting that close contact with others can spread the virus, whichever variant it happens to be.

Other nations have done so if the Government is looking for guidance. The inconvenience of wearing one whenever out and about is a small price to pay.

“We’re back in lockdown” (Post front page, January 5). But should it have come to this? A matter that will most likely be discussed and investigated for a long time to come.

But we are where we are – and so we should all hang in there as the end of this nightmare is now in sight.

Mark Iles Newark