Face coverings kick off the ‘let’s do the right thing for Warwickshire’ campaign

Last week, Warwickshire County Council launched its new campaign – Let’s do the Right Thing for Warwickshire’ with a photoshoot of community leaders wearing colourful and patterned face coverings.

This was in response to Government guidance around wearing facemasks in shops and supermarkets to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

Various members of the community donned the face coverings for the photoshoot, which was carried out by a member of Warwickshire County Council’s staff.

Photographs from the shoot will form the basis of a social media campaign #WearitforWarwickshire, which aims to encourage people to wear face coverings and break down some of the misconceptions that only surgical-style masks are effective.

#WearitforWarwickshire is a key strand of the county council’s broader ‘Let’s do the Right Thing’ campaign.

Working with partners in the district and borough councils, it is pushing some of the simple steps that people need to take to reduce the spread of the coronavirus along with;

~ regular washing and sanitising of hands

~ keeping a safe social distance of at least two metre wherever possible or taking mitigating actions such as wearing a face covering where that cannot be done

~ staying home if experiencing any symptoms of Covid-19 and immediately arranging a test.

Nationally, research has shown that retail staff have been disproportionately affected by the coronavirus, given their increased exposure to the public.

Jo Williams, proprietor of Joco Interiors in the Ropewalk Shopping Centre in Nuneaton, welcomed the new guidance and the #WearitforWarwickshire campaign.

She said: “We would really appreciate people wearing face coverings in the store to keep our staff and other customers safe.

"We are aware that some people may be exempt due to medical conditions and it’s important that we support them, but if you can wear a face covering, it would be appreciated.

"In fact, we are looking forward to seeing how creative people can be. So why not pop in say hello and show us how you #WearitforWarwickshire.”

Cllr Kam Kaur, portfolio holder for customers and transformation at Warwickshire County Council, said: “'Let’s do the Right Thing’ and, specifically, #WearitforWarwickshire is a real call to action for our communities to take responsibility and help to reduce the spread of the virus.

"It was great to see various community leaders present at the photoshoot and I am grateful to them for their pledges to push the messages out in their communities at a local level.

“As part of the campaign, we are trying to help people understand that face coverings play a key role in reducing the spread of the virus by stopping particles being breathed into the air.

"This is especially important for those who may have the virus but be completely unaware.

"We have always said that we are in this together, so we really need people to take the guidance that is being pushed out seriously and to carry on doing what they have been, to continue to bring infection rates right down.”

Anybody wishing to share selfies of themselves wearing a face covering can do so through the #WearitforWarwickshire