I won’t shake hands or get rid of my mask yet

NEIL Stafford (“Science shows virus is not spread on surfaces”, Opinion, August 28) says that I “clearly” do not “trust the evidence that science is providing” me.

What evidence has been provided to me to trust and by whom?

Indeed, there has been nothing said during the Downing Street briefings, by medical experts and Government ministers, to indicate that hand shaking was safe. Even Boris Johnson stressed “Hands face space” and went on his merry way elbow bumping his way around the country. Alas, another potentially unhygienic practice.

Furthermore, the present gov. UK Coronaviruses homepage states “Regular handwashing is an effective way to reduce your risk of catching illnesses including Covid19”.

So, does Neil really expect me, or anybody else come to that, to restart shaking hands based on his continuing swipes at me for being cautious – his latest being based on a recent report by Trentbarton about touch points on its buses?

No more than I would expect others to avoid shaking hands based purely on my suggestion that now would be a good time to adopt a safer alternative.

Apart from Covid I was considering other illnesses (I thought I had made that point) and that nobody knows where another person’s hands have been.

I shall avoid shaking hands for the time being, which is not being rude when politely done. Call it taking personal responsibility, along with wearing a face mask in situations where they used to be mandatory. I do not see why Neil is so concerned.

However, it would be interesting to read in the Post the views of a Nottinghamshire senior Public Health official about actual hand shaking during this present period. Mark Iles

Newark