Allow scuba diving

Being...

1) underwater
2) wearing a drysuit
3) wearing a neoprene hood
4) wearing neoprene gloves
5) wearing a watertight mask
6) breathing from a purified, self-contained air supply

...I am most definitely at ZERO risk of giving or receiving Covid.

Caveats:
. Sensible travel restrictions between home and water (don't drive 400 miles to dive)
. No car sharing and limited numbers at dive site (ideally just you and a buddy travelling in separate vehicles)
. 2m from buddy at all times when onshore at dive site.

Why the contribution is important

Risk of Covid transmission is infinitesimal compared to a shopping trip to local supermarket or even jogging past a thousand other joggers/cyclists/walkers etc that everyone is doing all the time.

by Chimp on May 08, 2020 at 02:55PM

Current Rating

Average rating: 2.6
Based on: 5 votes

Comments

  • Posted by JBAKER May 08, 2020 at 15:07

    Don’t see any problem with this.

  • Posted by Chimp May 08, 2020 at 15:24

    For anyone voting this idea down, please at least have the courage to leave a comment to say why you think it's a bad idea.

  • Posted by DevVeh May 08, 2020 at 17:15

    We need to also consider the risk of increasing the demand on our emergency services. Accidents happen but at this time I think we should be trying to reduce them wherever possible.

    I also don't think we should allow diving centers to open especially if equipment is shared. I fear that if we say they are closed but diving is allowed we will have people who are over confident diving and getting into trouble.

    I am sympathetic to the poster as not being able to do something you enjoy sucks. Perhaps running a very full bath and going diving could make for an interesting COVID19 story?

  • Posted by Chimp May 08, 2020 at 17:38

    The only criteria for whether an activity should be allowed or not should be the risk of transmission of Covid, not the inherent risk of the activity itself.

    I have been diving for many years (over 1000 dives) and never once had to have emergency service assistance. The inherent risks involved in diving put Covid WAY down the list. I am far more likely to die from bends or drowning. No diving centres or club gatherings, but individuals being allowed to drive a short distance to participate in an activity that makes it impossible to give/receive the virus should be allowed. There can be no reasonable justification for any other decision.

    I believe the R number for the general population is significantly below 1, but is being inflated by care home figures where most new cases seem to be occurring. Lockdown care homes as tight as a drum, and allow the rest of us some respite from the unnecessarily draconian lockdown measures. I live in Lothian where only around 2000 cases have been reported in total from a population of almost 1 million (source: BBC News website). How many patients have been admitted to the Louisa Jordan??? Biggest risk of anyone outside of a care home or hospital catching Covid is in the supermarket! Get some perspective and let us out to participate in activities where we can maintain social distancing. Sweden had no lockdown at all and have far fewer cases than UK.

  • Posted by Powlsa May 09, 2020 at 19:31

    I agree that small groups meeting at the waterside (especially inland lochs) and undertaking sport diving ( no decompression) is a relatively safe activity. Of course one cannot rule out an unforeseen accident but accidents can happen doing currently permitted activities (eg Brian May’s gardening mishap!)
    Rules for such activities would need to include social distancing whilst travelling and no visiting the local shops etc.
    I accept that clubs are going to have to wait to resume training but I think most small group outdoor activities could recommence with appropriate safety precautions
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