In a lot of countries walking, biking and jogging are welcome activities in these times of COVID-19. However, it is important to note that you need to avoid each other's slipstream when doing these activities. This comes out of the result of a study by the KU Leuven (Belgium) and TU Eindhoven (Netherlands). (1)(2)(3)(4)
The typical social distancing rule which many countries apply between 1–2 meters seems effective when you are standing still inside or even outside with low wind. But when you go for a walk, run or bike ride you better be more careful. When someone during a run breathes, sneezes or coughs, those particles stay behind in the air. The person running behind you in the so-called slip-stream goes through this cloud of droplets.
People walking along looking at their smartphonezzzzz and not were they are going....... I call them phorons.... (phone-morons).... Does that make me evil?
2 people walked so close to me yesterday that I had to turn around and tell them to please back up. They looked at me like I was crazy. (They had no mask on)
I saw this at the weekend and it made me much more cautious with my morning bike ride yesterday. I don’t ride in the park anyway and the beauty of having no traffic means that if I stick to side roads I can cycle in the middle of the road. It did mean more swerving about if I had to overtake a jogger but fortunately they were all on the pavement. 20 meters is a big distance though. I really really don’t want to give up cycling 😢
Yes, for us CLLers but you may have family members going out to exercise for whom this would be useful or you may cross a runner’s path going out to your hospital appointment as I did yesterday, several times 😕
Hi, Thanks for getting back to me. For a minute there i was hoping i may of interpreted it a bit wrong and could go out for a little bit.... Luckily i am able to work from home so i have something to keep me occupied. 2 bank holidays definitely made it a long weekend.
Are you still attending hospital appointments Jackie? I have been sent the appropriate blood test forms and they are arranging for nurses to come to my home to take them. My next supply of meds will be posted to me.
I went to my local hospital and had my blood test yesterday, a phone call this morning from our mutual friend confirming all was well and that my meds would be with me today or tomorrow. I think they said I would get 6 months of meds but I'll find out when it arrives.
Had a lovely two mile walk in the sunshine to get home
Glad all ok with you Jackie. I wonder why they are organising a nurse to come in to do mine. I wonder if it’s because I am more at risk because of my heart issue (Afib)? Oh well, saved me a trip lol.
I got an email from my haematologist this morning, saying I can get my bloods done at a Drive-through blood testing centre that's been set up at the Sheffield Arena! sth.nhs.uk/news/news?action...
Sounds good to me! Apparently people just have to stick arms out the car window and have their bloods taken without getting out! First time I'll have been out in the car for weeks - I'm almost looking forward to the excursion! I'll have a phone consultation next week when my 6 month appointment is due.
I hope other cities will have similar Drive-Through opportunities.
I'm feeling very well-looked after today. Hubby got a Tesco online delivery booked for next week and our local pharmacy has just home-delivered my repeat prescription medications. (The Tesco delivery did take some time and effort and the pharmacy had said they'd deliver yesterday and only came today, but I'm still very grateful).
A drive through blood testing centre sounds amazing. Great idea. My local NHS obviously haven’t thought about that.
I will receive my second Tesco delivery on Friday and got my meds to the door yesterday. It’s amazing isn’t it although I would much prefer to have the freedom to collect my own!
Both Allan and I are confined totally to the house (Allan has lung / breathing problems). Our local Council had also been providing us with food packages which was really useful before we organised our Tesco deliveries.
Jackie - DON'T DO IT! Don't go to the shops! We need you here!
Sometimes local areas have volunteers who will do shopping etc for elderly/vulnerable. Not that we see ourselves as elderly/vulnerable, but sometimes needs be. You could try doing a search on Facebook for volunteer groups in your postcode. There are people around who are wanting to help.
Hubby and I didn't want to trouble our local volunteer group if we could get a Supermarket delivery ourselves, but we would have contacted them if it hadn't worked out.
Paula
P.S. Glad you enjoyed your sunny walk back from the blood test!
The delivery thing is a game of chance for the slots. The key is to figure out what time they reset for the next opening. I have stayed up to all hours in the morning to get a slot and I "play" several stores with several branches. When I realized how bad things were going to get I decided to spend the time to figure out the system. Good luck!
I had to swerve about 12 runners this morning..... I try to keep well away from them, as they breathe much heavier than folk that are only walking..... None were wearing masks......
I am a runner but my rural area is not health oriented so never a chance of seeing another runner. There is an official bicycle route on part of my running route but that is mainly used on weekends so will avoid those times. Thanks for this information. So much never occurred to me. I suppose in a way this pandemic highlights all the weaknesses in our daily routines.
I hate the quandary resulting from such simulation research - particularly when we don't know what level of exposure is required to become infected. (It's the same problem we face with knowing how long before exposed materials are safe to handle.) My worry is that this non peer reviewed research will dissuade those not in lock down from benefitting from cardiovascular exercise along with the mental benefits of getting out of the home and preferably into some pleasant natural surroundings.
Having led a neutropenic lifestyle for over a decade, I have always tried to incorporate social distancing into my interactions with people when I don't know their health status and worn a mask when that was impossible. When you are outdoors, you can sometimes benefit from positioning yourself so that any breeze works to your favour. I hope that this research does make people more aware of how to minimise the risk of aerosol spread and take other precautions, such as exercising when less people are around. I would hate for it to be responsible for reducing community fitness.
The study, by a team of engineers in Europe, is a preprint publication, which means it hasn’t been peer-reviewed by other scientists and journal editors to check the research methods and findings.
In other words, the quality of the simulation could be anything between flawed and reasonably realistic. Without peer review we cannot know.
The study is also based on a computer simulation, so it’s a hypothetical study not involving human participants.
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Maintaining 5m to 20m distance when walking, running or cycling outdoors would make it almost impossible to exercise in some cities and would undoubtedly discourage some people from going out at all.
:
A consequence of current formal advice is that running or cycling on narrow and busy outdoor tracks and paths should best be avoided because of the close proximity and the risk of touching or coming too close to others.
Exercisers could use such tracks very early in the morning or at other less busy times."
The full article is worth reading, but please let it encourage people to find safer ways to keep fit, rather than increase the risks from living an increasingly sedentary existence. I feel sorry for those of us living in close quarters with other families, where it is nigh impossible to go outside without risking contagion by sharing a lift, for example.
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