Good Morning Britain viewers claim to have spotted the moment Susanna Reid appeared ''incredulous' with Richard Madeley just a short while after she had to step in and clarify some of his remarks. The presenters were back at the helm of the ITV news programme on Wednesday (January 4) after making the post-Christmas return on Tuesday.
As well as delivering the latest news headlines, there were also plenty of topics being discussed on the latest show including the ongoing NHS crisis and continued strike action across the country.
However, it was talk about a health expert's suggestion that people might want to start wearing face masks again that appeared to prompt an awkward moment between Richard and Susanna. As thousands of patients end up in hospital suffering from flu and Covid-19, a government minister suggested it was ‘sensible’ to wear masks while travelling.
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Professor Susan Hopkins, chief medical adviser at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), issued advice on Monday saying adults should "wear a face covering" if they have to leave the house while feeling unwell. The UKHSA handed out the advice this week in a bid to counter high levels of flu, Covid-19 and invasive Strep A disease (iGas).
However, No 10 has stressed that it is "not compulsory" to wear a mask while ill. Downing Street said the advice from health officials was “longstanding” but stressed it was "not mandatory".
As Richard and Susanna discussed whether face masks could be making a comeback as they discussed the latest news headlines, Richard claimed he had done his own bit of research on the matter: "This isn't scientific, and it doesn’t relate to maths directly, but I did a kind of a face count when I was out shopping yesterday, in my local supermarket," he said.
"And I reckon about one in 25 people. That was my average in two different supermarkets. About one in 25 are wearing a face mask permanently. But maybe it’s more than that where you are anyway." And GMB viewers couldn't help but spot Susanna's reaction and took to social media to comment.
@Laird01554927 tweeted: "Susanna looks incredulous when Madeley has counted 50 people to see who are wearing face masks." @Dan_Cymru posted: "Susanna’s face! #GMB," alongside a crying laughing emoji. And it came not long after Susanna stepped in after Richard made 'smack' comments in relation to Rishi Sunak.
It has been announced that the Prime Minister will set out his plan to ensure all pupils in England study some form of maths until aged 18 in his first speech of 2023. On Wednesday, Mr Sunak will lay out his priorities and ambitions for the year ahead, which will include a new mission to combat high rates of innumeracy in England.
The PM will say that with the "right plan", he sees "no reason" why "we cannot rival the best education systems in the world". It comes as the UK remains one of the only countries in the world that does not require children to study some form of maths up to the age of 18.
And the controversial proposal was the centre of the discussion on Good Morning Britain, with regular guest Kevin Maguire saying: "For Sunak to go down this route now is ridiculous." Richard then replied: "He’s asking for a smack in the chops, isn’t he?" But as he quickly added: "Politically speaking," Susanna was already quick to intervene and added: "Metaphorically, shall we say."
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