I TOTALLY agree with David Wood of Peterlee (HAS, May 21) about the necessity of wearing of face masks.

I think it is criminal that the wearing of face masks is not mandatory in the UK, especially in closed environments like shops, supermarkets and public transport. I would like to see The Northern Echo take the lead in this issue and start a campaign with the slogan “Wear A Face Mask and Save Lives” to replace the hopeless “Stay Alert and save lives”.

Then when we start spraying our streets with disinfectant, like other sensible countries do, we might see a reduction in the number of infections.

Remember the UK is not only second in the world with the number of Covid-19 deaths, but the North-East is also third in the UK with the number of Covid-19 deaths.

Let’s get busy and save lives.

Name supplied, Howden-le-Wear