Going out in Portsmouth: Readers react to revellers out on the town on Friday in Southsea

One of those out, Greg Donaldson from Havant, said he refused to let the spike in infections spoil his night out in Albert Road with friends.

‘I’m a party animal. I live for a good sesh and night out,’ said the 37-year-old. ‘The pandemic has been going on for so long now, Covid is just something we’re going to have to get used to and live with.’

And many of our readers on Facebook were cheered by seeing pictures of people in pubs, giving them an online pat on the back.

Dale Hilton wrote: ‘Good on them. If you wanna hide away like a wimp forever and waste your life that’s your personal choice.’

Margot Darby added: ‘Lockdown will happen after christmas so enjoy life now and merry Christmas everybody.’

Elaine Torrington posted: ‘Good on them I say! Merry Christmas to them. Gotta be better than living under the stairs wrapped in bubble wrap! Life is for living.’

And Cailey Fair agreed, commenting: ‘Get out there enjoy yourselves it's time to we learnt to live with Covid.’

Charlie-ann Wileman said: ‘Lovely to see – can’t live in fear our whole lives.’

And Samantha Faulkner posted: ‘Good on them! Get on with life!’

Dane Beard was inspired by the coverage, posting: ‘Freedom of choice, go for it paint the town red and I was going to stay in tonight but seeing this picture I will be out out.’

Debbie Cobbett pointed out that guidance from the government about staying in had an economic impact: ‘As someone who works in entertainment, and primarily within hospitality venues, I'm happy that not everyone is panic-cancelling events and social occasions.

‘You can read every article going about Omicron and one study will simply say it's highly spreadable, but another will say "it's highly spreadable BUT symptoms are less severe" so what the Tories are cleverly doing is using this as a chance to frighten the masses into cancelling social events (under the excuse of reducing strain on an already overwhelmed NHS) whilst simultaneously making sure; with it NOT being a law and down to personal decision, that neither hospitality venues or entertainment staff receive any financial support to cover cancellations and loss of earnings.

‘And neither do they do anything about increasing NHS funds, building more hospitals, increasing staff pay to encourage more to want to join.

‘They just keep our money for their own private parties.’

Amanda Cooper was a bit more circumspect, posting: ‘Each to their own l suppose …… there are no restrictions for partying in a public setting so no-one is breaking the rules here. That said - l have decided to cancel my social outings it’s a personal choice. May end up with a lockdown circuit breaker for two weeks in January at this rate though.’

Jan Harrison wrote: ‘As long as they aren’t given a hospital bed when they catch it, preventing others who acted responsibly being treated, then it’s fine.’

And Terry Moore offered his perspective, writing: ‘As they say in life, you pay your money and you take your chance. I’m old, clinically vulnerable, still go and do my own shopping albeit on a mobility scooter.

‘I’ll take a trip round Mountbatten foreshore or scoot over to Fareham, I live in Portsmouth. I wear my mask as I have done for the last seven years.

‘I say hello to people, I choose not to shake hands of strangers or hug them. I still go to QA for my cancer monitoring, yes they are still doing that contrary to what some others might say. I recently had elective surgery for a hernia, yes QA are still performing elective surgery. I am continuing to live with just a few added precautions. If that makes me a muzzled sheep because I don’t believe the BS about WEF or the New World Order or Bill Gates wanting to depopulate the world, I do realise that the Dan Brown books are fiction and not real, then all I can say is baaaa from behind my mask.’