Ask Sheffield: “Will you wear a face mask on the bus from Monday?”

Elaine Brown, from Beuchief, said she already had two masks - one a normal surgical mask and the other a more substantial builder’s mask - and was happy to wear them.

She said: “I will be wearing a mask from Monday when they become mandatory. Probably the more substantial one on the bus.

“I don’t usually wear one outside because there seems to be less risk of spreading infection there. But I try to be careful and keep a good social distance from people both inside and outside.

“I am keen to get out again and get on with my life. It drives you crazy if you are stuck in the house all day every day.”

Natalie Melnik, from Pitsmoor, said she was still using the buses sparingly and was getting one back home after walking into the city centre earlier.

She said: “This is only the second time I have used the bus in the last three months and I feel safer with one on. I was isolating for two months and going out again is a little daunting.

“They may not work 100 per cent but I think it is important to try to protect yourself and others. Nobody knows who has got coronavirus as lots of people don’t display symptoms.”

Chris Bowler, from Fulwood, said he had bought some basic surgical masks to wear for when he used the bus.

He said: “It’s nothing too fancy or expensive but I think it is important to stop the spread of infection.

“I am a key worker so I have been on the bus with only one or two other people during lockdown but when more people come back the mask will make me feel a bit better.”

But Dave Thompson, of Fox Hill, said he thought the whole situation was ‘overblown’.

He said: “I will wear a face-covering from Monday but only because I don’t have a choice. I don’t think it will make me any safer.

“I have been living with this for the last nine weeks and I have not got it yet.”