Should we wash our shopping? Wear a mask to the shops? Use a lift? Well, what do the scientists do?

LINDA BAULD

Linda Bauld is professor of public health at Edinburgh University and the mother of two teenage children

We do it when we can. It is good to be proportionate about risks, and the risks in our household with teenagers and parents who are 50 are not as great as with my elderly parents-inlaw, who are both in the shielded category. My husband and I do their shopping. We wipe down their groceries with warm water and a bleachbased detergent. I always make sure I wash my hands before I go to the supermarket and when I come back. I use the same bags all the time and they do not go anywhere else.

Linda Bauld

I wear a face covering in shops and I would wear one on a bus. There is no point wearing gloves. If you touch a surface then touch another surface, you are transferring the virus. However, gloves are important in specific settings such as clinical and care.

I hope we will be able to have a holiday in Scotland. Self-catering cottages might be a good option this summer. I will not travel outside the UK or within the UK until we are given advice nonessential travel is permitted. I am not worried about air travel. On an aeroplane you have filtered and recycled air that is clean. You do not have that on the underground train or bus. But there is definitely risk when you are in close proximity to other people.

Absolutely. In terms of all we know about Covid-19, the risks to children and young people are very low. One thing we need to do is weigh up risks and benefits. Clearly the risks to our young people, who have been without education for many months, is substantial. It will delay their development and potentially affect their life chances.

If I had to use a lift I would wear a face covering and wash my hands before and after.