How to ease out of lockdown: Hands, face, space and fresh air
MEETING PEOPLE OUTDOORS LOWERS RISK OF CONTRACTING THE VIRUS
AS THE clocks changed last month and restrictions were relaxed on March 29, families across England were able to meet friends in groups of six outdoors – a welcome change after months spent in lockdown in order to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
However, while Covid-19 deaths have reduced, and the vaccine rollout continues, we need to remain vigilant as the virus is still circulating in communities and affecting people of all ages across the UK.
It is estimated that one in three people who have the virus have no symptoms and can spread it without knowing.
As the Stay Home advice eases, people are looking forward to meeting friends and relatives – but it is important to exercise caution and observe the rules of hand, face and space – or it could lead to an increase in infection of the Covid-19 virus. While the risk could be mitigated by meeting outdoors, maintaining social distancing is vital as the fresh air helps disperse Covid-19 particles.
Dr Shaun Fitzgerald is director at the Centre for Climate Repair at Cambridge and fellow of engineering at Girton College, Cambridge. He is a member of the UK Government Science Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) – Environmental and Modelling Group
Explaining how being outdoors is a safer way to meet people outside your household, Dr Fitzgerald said, “If you are outdoors and going for a walk, there are fewer surfaces you are touching, where somebody may have coughed on. Also, there aren’t door handles or things like that. So surface touching risks are lower outdoors.”
If the virus is present on railings or the pedestrian crossing button, when it rains, the water helps to wash the virus away and ultraviolet light from the sun can deactivate the virus.
“So, being outdoors is safer when you think about the different groups for actually eliminating the virus,” Dr Fitzgerald said.
Along with the vaccination drive, our collective efforts in complying with the rules have helped drive down infection rates of the virus.
Professor of behaviour science and security at King’s College London, Brooke Rogers, described the levels of adherence to the protective behaviours as “amazing”
“I do think there’s a real collective spirit. We are changing our behaviour, not forever, but in order to get us to a point where everyone can be safer,” she said.
“The risk (of infection) increases as contact increases, but that’s the risk of transmission. But this isn’t about and should never be purely about the virus. We need to think about the wider impact – of isolation, of loneliness, a lack of socialisation.
“It’s important to balance those risks. As long as Covid-19 is circulating in our environment, there is no such thing as being 100 per cent safe. But we can certainly lower the risk.
“As we start seeing friends and loved ones, we know it’s difficult for people to maintain social distance from their loved ones.
“Adults can very easily maintain social distance, but it’s difficult to explain that to a two-year-old why she isn’t allowed to crawl all over everyone and play with the other children.” Her advice? “Make a plan. If you’re going to meet up with another household or another family group, try to plan it in an environment that is the safest possible. Have those conversations. People are more willing and likely to stick to the plans made in advance rather than getting someone you haven’t seen in ages near you, close to you and kind of bumbling around in negotiating that space. It can be done. We need to have honest conversations with our friends and loved ones.”
For those who have received their vaccination and falsely assume that the pandemic is coming to an end, professor Rogers has some words of caution.
“Vaccines are a powerful weapon that we can deploy against this virus, but the response that is needed is a collective one.
“We need to remember that if we make one exception in our life – for instance, if we think about meeting various groups of people, ‘we know them really well, we trust them, we know they’re not seeing many other people’… if you multiply that across all of the people, or all the households the country who are just making that little exception, maybe even one tiny exception on the day, that’s when we can really, really see the potential for the virus to just pick up speed and skyrocket.
“Multiply any little allowance that you’re making across the country and ask yourself if you would feel safe in a country where everybody else is making a little exception in the same way.”
“We do expect waves,” Rogers noted, adding, “the public understands we are monitoring data. There needs to be really clear communication on where we’re going and how effective our actions are.
“So open up slowly, have time to assess. And if we get that right, and we keep the transmission going down, then we will have more and more opportunity to open up safely.
“If we change our behaviour too quickly, we risk driving the infection rate up, coming closer to the point of the NHS being overwhelmed, and possibly losing control of the virus again.”
She predicts some behaviour changes will continue in the longer term, including wearing masks in public spaces and improved hand hygiene.
“I will probably wear a mask when I commute into work on the train, tube or bus not only for myself, but also out of respect for other people – because not everyone in the population can have a vaccination. I sincerely hope that everybody who can have it will have it because that will make it safer for those who cannot.”
We all need to remain as vigilant as possible to control the spread of the virus and protect ourselves and those around us. By sticking to these regulations and working together as a community, we will control the virus and stop the spread as the weather gets warmer and restrictions are eased. n For more information on how to stay safe, visit www.gov.uk/coronavirus