AN NHS worker and borough councillor is calling on the council to enforce mask-wearing to help keep coronavirus rates low in Basingstoke.

The government eased restrictions last Monday, allowing shops and local councils to lift the rules on face coverings for the first time in months.

But Labour Councillor Sajish Tom, newly elected to represent Popley in May, has now raised concerned about abandoning face masks and is urging Basingstoke & Deane Borough Council to take action.

The Basingstoke hospital administrator, who worked throughout the pandemic, told The Gazette: "As a local councillor, my main focus is acting as the voice of the ordinary people. It is my understanding that at least 80 per cent of people still support wearing masks.

"Basingstoke & Deane Borough Council can pass legislation [to order] everyone to wear masks in town."

Currently, Festival Place has extended the policy of asking shoppers to wear face-coverings with a number of stores following suit.

However, Cllr Tom would like the authority to go further by implementing legislation to enforce mask-wearing across the town centre.

He said: “When I first moved here in 2005/06, the council took the decision to make areas of Festival Place a booze-free zone. I wrote a letter in The Gazette at the time thanking them for that. 

"So, similar to that issue, they should pass through legislation [on mask wearing] that gives a very clear message.”

The councillor said that his experience working for the NHS throughout the pandemic has made him especially safety conscious. 

And the experiences of his wife, who works as a nurse in the intensive care unit, meant he has witnessed first-hand the sacrifices made on the frontline. 

"We cannot bear another wave," he said. 

"I have personally realised [my wife's] fear, her anxiety, to go to work. But they had to go. I understand the issues they are facing," he added.

Cllr Tom said he believed a better decision for the government would have been to have held off relaxing measures for two months to allow for more people to get vaccination and reduce the spread during the busy tourist season. 

He compared Prime Minister Boris Johnson's decision to declare July 19 ‘Freedom Day’ with the early-pandemic attitude of then USA president Donald Trump.

“I think it’s almost similar to what Donald Trump did in America,” he said. “At the initial stages, he was very careless, with his attitude to mask-wearing etcetera. That was a very damaging message to the local people.

“This ‘Freedom Day’ declaration, or celebration, is very similar to what he has done in America, and Americans paid the price for that.”

He continued: “The [new freedoms] might bring us short-term happiness and we all like to enjoy summer. But we have got to protect our families.

“Masks are not going away, they will be a part of our lives for a long time.”