Broad Street Mall will be encouraging people to wear masks in shops in line with Government guidance introduced today.

Face masks are once again mandatory inside stores and on public transport in order to reduce the transmission of Covid-19, after the Omicron variant was detected in the UK.

Mall general manager Steven Connolly said that while changes in the pandemic that require increased restrictions are always a cause for concern, he has no problem wearing a mask.

“It’s almost a continuation of looking after each other - something we should be doing in life anyway.”

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He continued: “We will certainly be supporting that message on our social media channels and a couple of our poster sites internally just so that everyone is reminded that this is what we should be doing and certainly be encouraging people to wear their masks – I know I will be.”

The new measures, which include 10-days isolation for anyone who has been in close contact with a case of Omicron, will be reviewed within three weeks.

“If we’re all following the current guidance, wearing masks and giving eachother space, there’s not reason why it should be affecting our Christmas shopping – I know I’ll still be going out there and doing my Christmas shopping in the stores,” said Mr Connolly.

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“We will be supporting it among our teams and making sure that all our retailers are aware of the change in rules.”

A spokesperson for The Oracle shopping centre declined to comment because they were "focusing on supporting our retailers at this key time."

Changes to Covid restrictions include the return of PCR tests to travel.

Anyone entering the UK from any destination abroad will have to take a PCR test two days after arrival and self-isolate until they have a negative result.