Haverhill Echo reader's letter to the editor

Reader Shezette Irwin-Marsh, from Ashen, has written about the handling of the pandemic.

I would like to have my say on the Covid-19 crisis and why things weren’t handled correctly from the start, which is why people are so uptight and frustrated.

As shoppers, we were told to wear masks in supermarkets but then, further down the line, staff decided not to wear them. Some do, some don’t – why the contradiction?

And why do most people not wear a mask when out in the street, where germs cab be more rife?

Parents should also have more control over their children, with teenagers and the like continuing to gather in the streets at night, despite all the pubs and clubs being shut.

A lot of them have been rioting in some places (albeit not here), causing considerable damage in the process. There’s no justification for this bad behaviour at all.

How do they think we older folk feel being cooped up for months on end, especially those poor, old souls who have to live alone and don’t have any pets for comfort?

Why was it necessary for all shops to close when masks have to be worn anyway? Surely libraries could have been allowed to remain open. This would have given children and older people something to occupy their time.

The only thing this is achieving is driving shops to close permanently. Places all over the country are looking like ghost towns.

If the Government had stopped people flying in and out of the country, then the virus would not have spread so badly.