Something happened yesterday morning in homes all over Great Britain. A letter from our prime minister arrived on our doormats - accompanied by a government information leaflet. I thought that Yorkshire Pudding visitors in distant lands might be interested to hear about this mailing. And in turn I would be interested to learn if you have received similar mailings from your governments?
Apparently, the wholesale British mailing will cost the country around £6 million or $7.5 million (US). There was nothing new or surprising in either the letter or the leaflet that we have not heard or read before.
Of course, I was especially interested to see what the official documents had to say about daily exercise. The guidance on this has been woolly with many crossed wires and varying interpretations. Government spokespeople keep saying "Stay Home" while at the same time permitting, even encouraging daily exercise.
There is no mention of how long citizens are allowed to exercise or how far they may go if they are walking, running, cycling or riding horses. And there is also no clarity on whether or not you may drive or ride on a bus to an exercise location.
Like all intelligent, socially responsible citizens I am of course taking this epidemic very seriously indeed. After all, I do not want to die, I do not want any of my loved ones to die and I do not want to be an unwitting vehicle of infection. But common sense should not be thrown out of the window.
Clearly, contamination is far more likely in the aisles of a supermarket than during a solitary walk through woodland, along a quiet country lane, over a stream and back again. Even so, I would be much happier if the guidelines were really clear and not open to interpretation.
No mailings here. But we get daily briefings from our governor, which people watch on television or the computer. (I'm in New York State.) President Trump gives a daily press briefing as well, but those are so full of misinformation and are so ridiculous that people have stopped watching them in disgust.
ReplyDeleteI have seen several of Trump's briefings Jo(e). Some men in white coats should take that guy away in a van. He still cannot see what is going on. It just does not fit in with his narrow view of the world.
DeleteTheir instructions on activity are open ended. Since we're a bunch of slugs, don't worry about it. You won't see many out on the trails. Come to think of it you rarely find people out walking.
ReplyDelete"Open ended", yes! That's a good way of putting it Red.
DeleteI read an article today about exercise and the spread of the virus. It suggests much wider social distancing when walking, running and biking. Of course I can't find the article now, but the recommendation was further than 2 meters.
ReplyDeleteFound it. http://www.urbanphysics.net/Social%20Distancing%20v20_White_Paper.pdf
Stay my friend. I'm off tomorrow and walking the dogs and avoiding people.
The "slipstream" effect is one to be wary of. This article confirms my suspicions. The same team have made a study of how micro-droplets might spread in a supermarket when someone coughs or sneezes. The range is astonishing.
DeleteA couple of weeks ago we received a copy of "President Trump's Coronavirus Guidelines for America". They are simply the very basic, limited guidelines that all authorities were giving out when this first started getting bad. Both President Trump and our governor are giving televised updates daily. Any specific orders to citizens have been left up to each state and that has caused many problems because there are so many differences. Early in March we were put under isolation orders similar to yours for our county. Most counties surrounding Kansas City had similar orders due to the number of cases in this area. Only this week did our governor put the whole state under such orders. I think your officials are smart to issue the same orders for the whole country. We finally have almost all of our states under some type of isolation orders but still not all of them.
ReplyDeleteI would not worry about taking your walks as long as you keep your distance from other people and do not take more than one walk a day. At least that is what I would interpret from that letter.
I will think of you as my personal prime minister Bonnie and if the cops challenge me I will refer them to your last paragraph. It is interesting how different US states have responded differently and at different speeds.
DeleteNo mailings here. Instead, our state governments have been doing what they've been good at: Issuing orders. The "Coronavirus-Verordnung" of the state of Baden-Württemberg (where I live) differs slightly from those of other states; Bavaria is the strictest, or so we've been told (I've not read that one). Ours has been amended twice, with stricter rules coming into effect from the 29th of March onwards. The main things we all need to know are constantly repeated on the news, similar to what your mailing says; stay home, work from home if you can, wash, wash, wash your hands, don't meet with more than one other person from outside your household at any time, keep 1.5 to 2 m distance in public. Walks, runs etc. are all allowed, and there is nothing in the regulations that suggest we may be out only once a day.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting how exercise guidelines/rules seem to differ from country to country or even from state to state.
DeleteWe too have received a mailing this week from our government, together with a leaflet detailing the restrictions. These are also posted daily on social media for those people who can't be bothered to read the leaflet.
ReplyDeleteOurs are broadly similar to the UK, unsurprisingly as our government takes advice from their UK counterparts. I think that the instructions we have been given are pretty clear but there are still people who choose to interpret them in their own way.
You mean like the police?
DeleteActually our constabulary have been exceptionally tolerant, so far, which is why there are still many idiots out there taking the proverbial as they feel confident they will get away with it.
DeleteIn England, as you have probably seen from the TV news, different police forces have approached the exercise guidance quite differently. Some have sought to be hardliners while others have utilised tolerance and persuasion. This is partly shown in the wildly varying numbers of prosecutions.
DeleteIt's better than that Protect And Survive booklet when they told people to paint everything white and hide under the table if there was a nuclear attack.
ReplyDeleteI remember that booklet well. I used to use copies of it in a teaching project - considering official use of language but I liked the cartoons too. Looking back it seems surreal.
DeleteEnglish politicians always seem to be tone deaf. They can't get the message right without sounding preachy or patronising or authoritarian. Is it the public school system? Compare with Jacinda:
ReplyDelete"At the halfway mark I have no hesitation in saying, that what New Zealanders have done over the last two weeks is huge ... Kiwis have quietly and collectively implemented a nationwide wall of defence. You are breaking the chain of transmission. And you did it for each other."
Jacinda Ardern is a remarkable woman. I wish she could be our prime minister.
DeleteMe too. I commented that on an NZ blog some time ago but they were adamant that no transfer fee could fix it.
DeleteI was going to mention my admiration of Jacinda Ahern too. Her approach to many things shows common sense and empathy. I opened the letter and disposed of the envelope into the recycling. I may even read the letter but just to find out if there are any bits of it I have not already heard and seen ad nauseam on television and other social media.
ReplyDeleteYou will be disappointed Graham. You have heard it all before.
DeleteSince you seem hellbent, I mean determined, on traipsing about the countryside and exposing poor Clint to God knows what so that you can take photos to submit to that national thingy of yours, I'm sure you will find ways to continue. You may not have a First Amendment over there but you would fit right in among certain groups over here.
ReplyDeleteI am exposing Clint to sunshine, rain and flies. I am sticking inside the city limits which happen to include a big swathe of countryside. Which groups are you referring to? Perhaps the Canton Lions Club or The Cherokee County Historical Society?
DeleteThat is pretty open ended as to interpretation. One man's jog around the cull-de-sac is hardly another man's five mile ramble in the country.
ReplyDeleteWho knows? Is Boris even still alive?
Here's the thing- I don't think anyone knows for sure and certain what the risks for anything are. So yeah, use your common sense. I doubt seriously anyone's going to arrest you.
Perhaps folk will be arrested for displaying common sense in these strange times. I am glad you can also see the "open ended" character of the guidelines.
DeleteI believe there is a brochure in the mailbox but haven't picked it up as yet. It will be very similar to yours. We are getting our projections at the moment as the Health Authorities are holding a press conference (no politicians in sight)! We started lockdown a bit sooner than some - about 75% was travel related until very recently and quarantine orders had been put in place for all those returning after March break. So far our numbers look good - especially in comparison to other countries - but these numbers of course really just apply to the first wave.
ReplyDeleteAs far as the daily exercise dilemma in concerned - I guess they thought common sense would prevail - a walk around the neighbourhood - not an hour's drive first - sorry - I love your photos - but I don't think it's the time. Some people from the city planned to go to their cottages early (they aren't usually opened until the end of May) but this is being very discouraged by the city Govt. and by the cottage country govt. - they will not be welcomed!
Thanks for this comment Margie. Please understand that I am no longer travelling beyond Sheffield's city limits. The majority of my previous photos were taken well beyond the city limits. I see that 12 per million have died from the virus in Canada but 105 per million in Great Britain. Keep looking after yourself Margie.
DeleteI've heard it mentioned many times that some light exercise (a walk, or run or cycle) is permissible close to home. The point being, that if you go further afield and you have to drive to get to your exercise you are 1) potentially carrying the disease to another area which might not already have it -and even if you think you are healthy, you may not know you are going down with it for 7 days-
ReplyDeleteand 2) if you were to have a serious accident in your car, say, or stumbled far from home, you would have to go to hospital, when they are already full to brimming with covid patients, thus putting extra strain on the NHS. If I do go out, which I try to avoid at the moment, I do a brisk walk round my block and do a big swerve round any people I chance to meet, not that I am meeting many.
If that is what the government want then they should have stated it clearly in their leaflet. The guidance should not be open to interpretation.. I have heard The Health Secretary saying that a short drive before exercise is acceptable and that it is all about using common sense. Should children be allowed to jump on garden trampolines during the lockdown? Some 13,000 significant trampoline accidents happen each year - requiring visits to hospital A&E departments.
DeleteCan you post a link to the Health Secretary saying you can drive please? That would be great for when I walk my dog. Thank you
DeleteI hunted for a little while but could not find it. I recall it was on the Radio 4 PM show last week some time.
DeleteBBC NEWS item - Coronavirus: What powers do the police have? - April 10th
DeleteWhat about travelling to exercise? The College of Policing has now told officers in official guidance: "Use your judgement and common sense. For example, people will want to exercise locally and may need to travel to do so, we don't want the public sanctioned for travelling a reasonable distance to exercise."
Were I to receive anything from the current US excuse for leadership (which we haven't), it would not be opened. It would not enter the house (our mailbox is at the top of the driveway). It would go straight into the trash/bin. And can't you just imagine it--using the sentence structure of a 3 year old--likely with an enclosed 8x10 photo of the orange idiot telling everyone what a great job he is doing--especially if only 100k people die? Gag me.
ReplyDeleteBut then, I have no opinion.
Am I wrong to deduce that you are not a big Trump fan Mary? I am quite good at reading between the lines. Look after yourself.
DeleteNo, no letter here.
ReplyDeleteThe restrictions put in place here are very tight. As they have to be, with Spain having the second highest number of infections in Europe. The one thing that, to me, is worrying, is the fact that we are not allowed to exercise. Though it's a sensible precaution in any city, town, or any high density area. But when you live in the countryside it seems rather pointless that you can't, at least, enjoy a short walk. This afternoon I walked the dog - more than the permitted 50 metres from home - and didn't see a soul, and it's like that most days, long before the virus kept everyone behind their high garden walls.
It sounds scary there CG. Keep looking after yourself and your vicious hound. Please don't worry. I shall not tell the Spanish authorities that you walked one hundred metres!
DeleteQuestion: Why did you delete a comment of mine in support of you?
ReplyDeleteU
Sorry Ursula. I should have saved your comment and then re-posted it. I deleted the comment you responded to - not realising that your comment would also disappear. My mistake.
DeleteThat's ok. Don't let anyone spoil your harmless pleasure in nature. The Angel hesitant since it would involve him going, by car, for some distance. Police presence. As only his mother can I am manufacturing wild imaginary stories as to how his presence on the A-what's-it can be justified. "My mother just sent me an SOS, she is somewhere in the New Forest, incoherent, most likely having broken her foot, smashed her skull. All I need to do now is find her. Don't wish to draw on NHS resources and their ambulances. Thanks.". So far he is hesitant as to my wisdom.
DeleteIt'll be interesting to see what happens this weekend. Inner city. Sunshine. Starved bodies aching for Vitamin D. One can't but wonder if anarchy is boredom's brother.
Enjoy.
U
You have a vivid imagination Ursula! Putting such words in your beloved son's mouth. The lockdown certainly raises some interesting points and reflections. It is not as straightforward and clearcut as some suggest.
DeleteI agree -- the guidance IS woolly. (We got the same letter, obviously.) I guess it's up to us to decide on an acceptable duration of activity. I usually go out for about an hour each day, but today I took the dog to Hampstead Heath for a couple of hours. It seems like the government is fine with walking as long as we don't lounge on a bench or sunbathe or picnic. We have to be ACTIVELY exercising.
ReplyDeleteAlso, there's a sign up at the entrance that says we should "stay local" and not drive or take public transport to the Heath for exercise. I assume that's generally the guideline nationwide, though it seems fairly harmless to drive a bit in a rural area. I guess the risk is if there's a breakdown or an accident.
I am still not sure what "local" means but I am pleased that you got out for two hours today. I also think about the remote possibility of breakdown or accident and that is what is now keeping me within the city limits.
DeleteFirst of all, did he write that whilst in the Intensive Care? It really is a waste of money, in my opinion. It does not really go into any detail at all. But, maybe coming from Boris, that is to be expected. Well, at least it did not cost the taxpayers as much as one day in Florida costs us when Donald and his entourage and the secret service agents decide to go to his country club every weekend!!
ReplyDeleteHere in Colorado, the powers that be are thinking about closing trails and parks and mountain access in our high country as the number of people trying to recreate in those beautiful, popular spots during this beautiful weather we are having presently are causing a real problem. Can't "social distance" on a tiny trail in the middle of boulders and trees. Already, county parks are closed to children by order of the governor.
I hope that old saying comes true. "This, too, shall pass."
Or like the George Harrison album - "All Things Must Pass".
DeleteI wonder if during this crisis you and Big Bear sometimes wish you were back in your secluded mountain eyrie?
The buses here are running in and out of the village with no passengers. I could get on one and go to the next village and walk back, as I have done before. I don't think I can do that now, so I walk from my door.
ReplyDeleteIt is weird seeing so many empty buses going by. Why? It's the same here in Sheffield.
DeleteTurned away from Delamere forest, by the Cheshire Police :(
ReplyDeleteThe rules they are quoting used the term 'closest' in relation to where you live, so I was turned away, but not before the young Police officer let my dog have a much needed car break :)
When are they going to tackle the use of trampolines in gardens and the use of power tools for DIY? The "rules" remain open for interpretation. I am sticking within Sheffield's city limits.
DeleteNo letters but daily TV press conferences with updates from our health authorities (and politicians when needed). No general lockdown so far in Sweden but a number of restrictions anyway - especially to protect the elderly and other risk groups. Outdoors exercise is not restricted to once a day but the importance of social distancing is emphasized. I have pretty much restricted myself to just going out once per day though as that's pretty much what I've been doing over winter anyway!
ReplyDeleteSweden's approach has been out of synch with other western countries. It is surprising that there wasn't an internationally agreed plan of action that all countries would abide by.
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