Travel for exercise
Relax restrictions around travelling for exercise; instead of trying to exercise on crowded parks and paths in urban settings, allow travelling to further-afield areas. Keep closed 'honeypot' car parks and start points that would otherwise encourage people to congregate. And, if necessary at first, continue to limit exercise to individuals / household groups only.
Why the contribution is important
It would be far lower risk to walk / exercise in open countryside than in busy parks / paths in urban settings. It would just require individuals to be diligent about avoiding crowding at popular car parks / start points. But this is still less risky than a busy park, canal towpath etc.
by adam309 on May 05, 2020 at 02:09PM
Posted by TonyDonnelly May 05, 2020 at 14:13
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Posted by Fifer72 May 05, 2020 at 14:13
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Posted by Nalcantara May 05, 2020 at 14:19
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Posted by Jomccolgan May 05, 2020 at 14:19
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Posted by Ghart May 05, 2020 at 14:24
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Posted by HelenO May 05, 2020 at 14:25
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Posted by SconeBurns May 05, 2020 at 15:05
Apart from anything else, prolonged restrictions to a limited local area will likely encourage people to break the local 'lockdown', and they will travel further afield for the simple reason that people get cabin fever even in their own local area over a prolonged period of time.
It is better to allow this to happen and try to get a modicum of control over it, if necessary, than to deny it and face an inevitable breaking of the rules by an increasing number of people. I think we need to accept that people, on the whole, will try to be responsible as they demonstrated in the Foot and Mouth period and as they are largely demonstrating now.
I do not concur with the idea of insisting the exercise be longer than the time it takes to travel to a place for a variety of good reasons.
However, I do see a problem with 'hotspots' and how this is managed.
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Posted by dkwatt May 05, 2020 at 16:38
You only have to refer back to the weekend before the lockdown to see what would happen.
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Posted by Rachel_T1502 May 05, 2020 at 17:03
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Posted by ljk84 May 05, 2020 at 17:07
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Posted by adam309 May 05, 2020 at 17:35
Asking people to continue limiting any activity to the same few blocks of city streets and busy parks for the indefinite future is unsustainable and I believe poses far higher risk to people's physical and mental wellbeing than the risk of them catching or spreading Covid while in open countryside.
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Posted by poppetandmog May 05, 2020 at 19:19
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Posted by sbecker May 05, 2020 at 19:24
To decide how and when to remove a given restriction you need to look at why that particular restriction was enforced to begin with. I think it's important here to distinguish between restrictions which were put in place because they directly impact the transmission of the virus, like social distancing and other restrictions that were aimed at reducing any additional demand for the NHS.
To me continued social distancing seems completely justified given the rate of infection in the population is still high and the current lack of treatment or a vaccine.
But other measures like restrictions on travel and guidance against outdoor activity were deemed necessary based on the fear that the NHS would be imminently and catastrophically overrun by Covid-19 patients. So now that we are past the peak and hospitals have fortunately not been catastrophically overrun as initially feared, restrictions on travel and outdoor access enacted in response to that fear, should now be lifted.
Accessing outdoor spaces is good for mental health and makes social distancing guidance easy to follow. Continuing to unnecessarily restrict access because of a perceived threat that never materialised can no longer be justified.
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Posted by Rhubarb May 05, 2020 at 19:46
When so much has been taken away from us, giving back the freedom to get out to the countryside would mean so much.
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Posted by ProtestTheHero May 06, 2020 at 16:02
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Posted by gavmac May 07, 2020 at 13:20
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Posted by AnaMaria May 07, 2020 at 16:12
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Posted by WilfredLawrieNicholasJohnson May 07, 2020 at 16:40
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Posted by Reid2020 May 07, 2020 at 18:05
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