From not going anywhere without a mask to claims of 'scare tactics' - this is what people in Sunderland city centre have said about coronavirus
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Around 4,000 daily infections are believed to be taking place in the North East and Yorkshire and Sunderland has the highest number of infections per 100,000 people of any city in England.
And as lockdown rules have been relaxed this week the city centre, parks and beaches have been busier.
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Hide AdTaxi driver Les Howe, 65 , said he had seen a sharp rise in the number of people in the city centre in recent weeks and believed the Government’s message on social distancing was not getting through enough.
“Where they have put markings down to tell people where to go, a lot of people have just ignored it,” he said.
“We go to Asda once a week. They have got markings on the floor everywhere but nobody is taking any notice.”
Robert Bannan, 68, believes the city and region are paying the price for decades of neglect by Westminster.
“I think it is down to poverty,” he said.
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Hide Ad“People in the North East are not as well-off as in other areas. The North East is the poor relation of England and Sunderland is the poor relation of the North East.”
“Newcastle is suffering but not as much as us,” said Robert, from Thorney Close.
Bobby Johnson said he thought the Government had mishandled the crisis from the start by not testing people arriving in the country when the pandemic first broke out and failing to introduce national tests.
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Hide Ad“When are the public going to get these tests?” said Bobby, 69, from Hendon.
“They have got to start public testing, so anyone who has the virus can segregate themselves.”.
Linda Richardson, also from Hendon, uses an inhaler and had only visited the city centre twice in two months.
She believes not enough people are taking adequate precautions: “I have not used public transport since the lockdown began and I never go out without my mask and gloves,” she said.
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Hide AdShe also believes the Government was caught short: “The lockdown should have started earlier,” said Linda, 71.
However Gillian Le-Paul, 62, who lives in the city centre, is sceptical of the figures: “I think it is Government scare tactics,” she said.
“I’m not saying there’s no virus, but I think it has been overstated.”