The areas that have seen a rise in cases this week

Good evening,

A year ago wearing a mask in public was something you saw rarely, usually the territory of workers battling dust or foreign tourists more used to the concept.

Now it’s every day for all us if and when we leave our homes.

Masks themselves have all sorts of issues - the most pressing of which is the littering of the disposable variety.

It has become all too common to see them lying on pavement or on the road - it’s something we will pay an environmental price for.

But the wearing of masks has provoked critical changes in the way we interact with each other.

Whereas before we took cues for human behaviour from facial expressions, now we have to look more deeply to the eyes, we have to listen more carefully and shout louder.

No longer is a smile enough to assure a stranger you come in peace, or a polite upturn of the lips to those serving you across a counter or letting you through a door.

We are less sure of each other, already nervous because of the virus, we risk rudeness.

So for now - we must smile with our eyes.

Enjoy what is left of Wednesday. All of our breaking news is online as always - and so much more.

Kind regards,

Nicola Adam

Deputy Editor