A HEALTH chief is calling for people to don their face masks again as the town’s case rate continues to soar.

In a press conference chief executive Kevin McNamara said it was “a real shame” when the Government lifted some of the Covid restrictions including wearing a face covering.

He said: “Restrictions of hands, face, space are not major inconveniences for people – it’s like when we said we wanted people to stop smoking in pubs or wanted people to wear seatbelts – these are things that are designed to keep us safe.

“It’s a real shame that we’ve lifted those restrictions and we find ourselves now in this situation.

“We’ve got people in this organisation that are having to wear face masks and much more for 12 hour shifts.

“We’re asking people to think about the part they can play in limiting the spread of Covid.”

When asked whether people should be required to wear face masks he said: “As the short answer, yes we should have masks.”

The hospital had more than 300 patients attending its emergency department and urgent treatment centre on Thursday.

“If we want to stop people waiting on waiting lists for all that amount of time, we’ve got to recognise that we’ve all got a part to play and just take on this minor inconvenience of wearing a mask and following that sort of guidance,” he said.

The director of public health Steve Maddern is also urging the people of Swindon to follow the guidelines in a bid to halt the spread of the coronavirus.

The case rate in Swindon was 1,120.8 cases per 100,000 people, higher than the national average of 482.9 per 100,000.

He said: “I’m still wearing my mask, I’m still keeping my distance from others as much as I’m able to do so.

“I think it’s difficult for our residents because the national rhetoric seems to be very much a case of we have to live alongside it. Yes, we absolutely need to live alongside it, but we also need to be protecting ourselves and each other.

“So that nipping to the shops or going onto the public transport or any other of those things, where you generally would have worn a mask, I’m really asking people – unless you’re exempt- to take the offer, please wear your mask, please think about the distance that you have from other people and keep your hands clean.”