Why, oh why, has the Prime Minister decided that from Monday onwards there will be no legal requirement for people to wear masks and socially distance themselves from others when in shops, on public transport and other enclosed spaces?

I suffer from COPD and during both lockdowns I was shielding and paid my cleaner to do the weekly shop instead of doing the cleaning. Now it seems I am going to have to do the same thing from Monday until who knows when.

We were always told that one does not wear a mask to protect oneself but to protect others. The sad thing is that those most likely to be infected by the virus will be those most likely not to wear a mask, which will make it very dangerous for me to go shopping, because I know that If I catch the virus, I will be lucky to survive.

We hear so much about the importance of getting the economy on the move again, a move which I support, but the mandatory wearing of masks and socially distancing will not have the slightest effect on the economy, but it will have an enormous effect on the numbers of people affected with the virus, the number of deaths from the virus and the negative effect on the already over stretched NHS.

Patrick Howell

Cambridge