Facemasks: Compulsory rule 'the right thing to do'

Health Secretary Sajid Javid has reintroduced the requirement to wear a face covering at most indoor public venues

The wearing of face coverings at most public indoor venues such as cinemas, places of worship and museums is now compulsory again following the spread of the Covid Omicron variant. We ask people at a children's play centre and a theatre whether they are accepting it again.

'It's sensible'

Eleanor Woodward has worn a mask throughout the pandemic

At 360 Play in Stevenage in Hertfordshire, Eleanor Woodward is only too happy to wear a mask and thinks it is a "brilliant idea" that the new rules are coming in on Monday.

"I have actually continued to wear a mask the entire time anyway, even when they relaxed the rules," she says.

"I think it's sensible, the right thing to do and everyone should abide by it.

'Happy to wear one'

Rhys Williams feels more than happy to wear a mask

Also at 360 Play, Rhys Williams says he "feels fine" wearing a mask and believes it does make a difference to people's safety.

"If it's what we need to do, I'm more than happy to," he says.

"Even if it's just small percentages, I would rather small percentages than not at all."

When he is out and about he says he sees most people wearing them, and estimates that about 80% of passengers on the London Underground are doing so.

'We've seen this before'

Duncan Phillips says most people are happy to comply with the rules, but his industry is in a "fragile state"

Duncan Phillips has worked in the leisure industry for 25 years and, as the founder of the 360 Play, says the rules are "necessary to keep us all safe".

He says the industry is getting used to changes at short notice and "we've seen this before".

"Most of our customers are happy to put a face mask on to come and enjoy a venue like this," he says.

"Putting a face mask on is simple, as we want to keep venues like this open."

For anyone who is not wearing one, he says his staff are trained to "encourage and support" them to cover up.

As chairman of the British Association of Leisure Parks, Piers and Attractions he says "it's fair to say we've all had a challenging and difficult last 18 months."

"Any changes that come have a danger of impacting on what we call our recovery time. We're just starting to have people used to coming back and being used to coming indoors," he says.

He is "nervous" about the impact the new changes will have, as the industry is still in a "fragile state" but he says he is "positive" that venues will stay open and carry on trading with the masks rule in place.

'We're keeping them safe'

Jo Gordon says the pantomime season is in full swing and audiences are still coming to have some festive fun

It has been a busy day, oh yes it has, for the Royal & Derngate in Northampton as its pantomime Dick Whittington opens for a run of 39 performances until 2 January.

Jo Gordon, the theatres' chief executive, says: "We've had a really busy few months, with full capacity auditoriums in both our theatres, and it [wearing masks] was the one bit of feedback from customers that said it would make them safer, so we decided a few weeks ago to introduce mask wearing.

"So for us it's not going to be that much different.

"What [the rule change] means is we have a bit more authority behind us and it's not just a request from us; it's something we can insist upon."

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It does not seem to be putting anyone off as the "audiences are coming out in force" and she is expecting 25,000 for the panto's run - " a phenomenal number".

The one issue the production has had to deal with is members of the company catching coronavirus, and with a few actors isolating, new performers have been cast.

"Just the energy, passion and commitment to putting on a great show this week has been really inspiring," she adds.

Alex Lodge is playing the title role of Dick Whittington at the Northampton theatre