Face mask rule will hurt towns like Harrogate – Yorkshire Post Letters

ON Friday we decided that, for the first time in four months, we would visit Harrogate. Parking was easy and so we put our masks on and set off into the town, which is when the gloss started to rub off. My glasses steamed up, disastrous for an unfamiliar shop, and the elastic cords caused interference on my hearing aids.

Adjusting the mask to clear the condensation required the prohibited touching of the mask; removing the mask meant no shopping and put my hearing aids at risk of being flicked off and lost. To complete the downside, we tried two places to eat, but both required us to order by mobile phone app because of the virus and, in my 80s, that is not for me.

We enjoyed our walk around the Valley Gardens and settled for a sandwich eaten outside. The town was quiet and shopkeepers we spoke to all felt the mask rule had reduced their already limited trade, the opposite of the Government’s intention.

We were left with one final thought. We know masks are commonly worn in Chinese cities to try and give some protection from their serious air pollution, but if they give any appreciable protection against the virus, then surely its spread within and outside China would at least have been inhibited. Somebody is playing games with us.

Editor’s note: first and foremost - and rarely have I written down these words with more sincerity - I hope this finds you well.

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Sincerely. Thank you.

James Mitchinson