Former Weymouth GP says wearing masks 'act of public kindess'
From today masks will be required on busses, trains, and inside shops
A Weymouth councillor and former GP is praising the Government's quick response to news of the new Omicron variant of coronavirus.
New rules requiring the use of masks on busses, trains and inside shops come into effect from today.
It's not known if current vaccines are as effective against the new variant as they are against the Delta variant, which was discovered earlier this year.
Weymouth Councillor Jon Orrell told Greatest Hits Radio Dorset the new rules are proof the government's learned its lesson. He said:
"They've been twice bitten when they've not reacted in time when there's been coronavirus upsurges, so this time the third time, they've reacted much more promptly.
"It's a precautionary thing to get the masks back on, take some more precautions on public transport and in shops and in school corridors.
"This is really good while we have a few weeks to work out how deadly this new strain is."
He's urging people to consider getting their jabs if they've not yet, and keep to the new mask rules. He said:
"When you wear a mask, you're not wearing it for yourself, you're wearing it for the person next to you and their elderly relative, or their sick child with cancer.
"So what you're doing is preventing infection that you have from spreading to another person. So it's an act of public kindness and compassion to wear a mask.
"There's a big study came out in the British Medical Journal two weeks ago showing masks do work they cut transmission by over 50%.
"It's simple, it doesn't cost much, but it can save lives."