Cases are rising so why is no one taking Covid seriously any more?

For the first time since my discharge from hospital three months ago, I ventured into town. On the bus there was only myself and the driver masked – the other 20 or so passengers were unmasked.

In town it was more or less the same. By far the vast majority of people were unmasked, there was no social distancing and I never once saw anyone take advantage of the free hand sanitiser available in every shop.

Compared to my last visit, it was like being in a parallel universe.

Now daily news updates show infections, hospitalisations and death rates all rising, yet the vast majority of people appear to be taking no precautions at all.

The government has been fairly quiet on the subject of late – has it simply decided to step back and let the disease run its course while accepting a certain number of hospitalisations and deaths as inevitable?

Frank C, South Shields

I have recently returned to the UK from Spain and I’ve been shocked at the numbers of people who do not wear masks in enclosed spaces. In Spain, when anyone is inside a public building they wear a mask, and they even do so outside if social distance cannot be maintained.

I feel so much safer in Spain than here in the UK. I think the UK is on track for a further lockdown but

I don’t think the vast majority of people care any more.

Jeff, Nottingham

In August I went on holiday to Gibraltar. When you get on the bus there everyone is wearing a mask, in the shops everyone is wearing a mask, and everyone was wearing it correctly, covering both the nose and mouth.

My apartment was overlooking the beach and at the end of the day when everyone went home, there was very little litter left on the beach. In fact, I could count the pieces of litter on one hand and still have fingers to spare. It’s a pity both of these do not happen in this country.