Bereaved caller urges public to socially distance at Christmas markets
7 December 2020, 17:50
Bereaved caller warns against not social distancing at Christmas markets
A caller who lost his mother to Covid called LBC to urge people to maintain social distancing when visiting Christmas markets.
The exchange between Chris from Derby and Shelagh came following news that the Christmas market in Nottingham will be closed for the rest of the year.
The market was forced to shut amid criticism over the lack of social distancing after hundreds of people crowded into the attraction on Saturday.
Chris gave LBC's Shelagh Fogarty his perspective, after losing his mother to Covid three weeks ago. He also revealed that his father had survived the virus after contracting it.
Covid vaccinations arrive at hospitals ahead of Tuesday
Speaking of the crowded market, Chris said: "Even if you are in that crowd and you're there because you've been locked down and you want get out and you want to enjoy the Christmas spirit, surely there'll be some part of you wondering if it really is the right thing to do."
He added: "I would say it's not irresponsible to go as long as you can maintain your distance from other people and maintain your hygiene.
"Things do get manic and chaotic at Christmas time...Sometimes maintaining distance from other people can be one of the last things on your mind."
Dr Penny Ward on mass vaccine rollout
In a joint statement with Nottingham City Council, market organisers Mellors Group said: "Plans were in place to control access to help manage the number of people entering the site at any one time and to continually monitor this throughout Saturday.
"However, numbers were too large to implement these effectively."
