Social distancing in the House of Commons.

[2greys]

So any one going up the steps have to walk past others, sitting at the ends of the benches, less than 2m away. M.H. should certainly know better. Or do the rules not apply to them, only to us?

[RoadRunner44]

Well spotted 2greys.

[Jaybird19]

Only one answer to that

[Bkin]

Some people just don't get it.

[hypercat54]

Silly question! You already know the rules don't apply them. I bet all the restaurants and bars there are open too.

[rachelmi]

One of the MPs was sweating and looking ill 😷 when giving a speech in the House of Commons today! 😮. He is being tested as I type for Coronavirus. They are deep cleaning where he was sat !

[Jaybird19 in reply to rachelmi]

W here did he gò before up and down those rows of seats and round about in the building , to the loo? Anywhere is potentionally infected.

[2greys in reply to rachelmi]

Business Secretary Alok Sharma is self-isolating at home after becoming unwell in Parliament.

bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-...

[rachelmi]

He then went home as he was clearly unwell 🤧 hope he didn’t take the tube 😷

[2greys]

Dr Jenny Harries said on Tuesday, "there is only a 1 in 500 chance of catching the virus" when speaking about the shielded. Obviously the MPs have that same chance or worse even.

Going further with that number quoted. The Gov figures say 2,200,000 of us shielding with odds of 1 in 500 that equals 4,400 us will contract the virus by going out in public. chrisco quoted Dirty Harry "Do you feel lucky, punk?" Of course that 1 in 500 chance are Gov. produced figures. Figures that we already know are being manipulated.

[Eian59]

I think they are testing the shielding ones who we know are the most vulnerable people, just to get a body count from the ones that are able to get out of their home. Some of them it won’t affect because they can’t leave even if they wanted to.

The way they have treated the most vulnerable in our society is a national disgrace.

[watergazer]

I wonder if those in Parliament yesterday will be at home isolating for 14 days if Alok Sharma is covid 19 positive? x

[2greys in reply to watergazer]

According to MH, yes they will have to isolate for 14 days and that applies to himself as well.

[watergazer in reply to 2greys]

We will see x

[Superzob]

I think it's already well-established that there is a "them and us" policy, but your example raises an interesting issue. My understanding was that the 2m distancing rule was introduced to reduce transmission between people, as long as they didn't remain facing each other for more than 15 mins, after which the risk rises to "unacceptable" levels. As a result, the WHO reduced this to 1m, which could be adequate so long as people aren't facing each other for a significant time. It is actually close contact for significant time which is the issue, the risk increasing with closer contact and decreasing (I think by the cube of the distance) the further away you are.

The blind adherence to the 2m rule has resulted in ludicrous situations where pedestrians have leapt into the road to avoid cyclists passing them within 2m on shared footpaths when, in fact, the risk of virus transmission from this fleeting "contact" is extremely low. Similarly, walking past someone within 2m is not likely to result in significant transmission, though any risk is unlikely to be acceptable to many on this forum.

If we are ever to get out of the hole which we have dug for ourselves (or had dug for us!), we might have to accept some risk (as we do with other things in life) and go back to basics: ie, good hygiene and keeping as far from others as possible, without getting too hung up on exact distances, as if these are magic numbers which are inviolate. Probably too early for this radical approach (after all, squeezing 6 people into my garden at 2m is going to be a bit of a challenge - I'll have to move to Scotland where obviously the gardens are bigger!), but it will have to come eventually.

[stamford1234]

It's a bad picture, she is at the recommended distance.

[peege]

🤣🤣🤣