To feel like 2m is not enough

[Hopefulworker]

Ugh! I know this is anxiety speaking but I’m so worried about being in any kind of proximity to people! Is 2m really enough?

It's hard to be sure. I guess it's a balance between what is safe and what is realistic/practical.

It's worked out by how far the air molecules that might contain the virus travel when people breath. So if you're 2m away the damp (from lungs) virus will drop to the ground before they reach you.

No it’s not enough to stop all the germs and thats been stated by scientists.
However it does stop most of them and is a reasonable distance to ask people to stay away from each other.
For example it would be impossible to stay 10m away from others in the street, supermarket, work etc.

Hence why vulnerable people are completely isolating.

The WHO says 1m is sufficient.

You could always stay at home and then be more than 2m apart forwver

Unless they are coughing or talking expelatively you arent going to catch it from ppl you pass in the street anyway. The 2m is incase they cough. Because when you cough particles have been shown to mostly fall in that 2m radius. So it's fine generally. But if there was a cougher in the shop (which there seems to be rather a lot) I'd five them a much wider birth than 2 metres.

It's a bit like saying is 5 a day enough. Is 70mph too fast on the motorway. Can I really drink 14 units a week and be safe etc.

The real data is messy and has to be simplified to make it understandable and suited to a wide range of people.

If you are as worried as this and your other threads this evening suggest, it’s probably best you stay at home.

I am just amazed as how many people don’t have a concept of what 2 m actually is. I had to do my weekly shop at A supermarket this morning and the amount of people just carrying along as normal was worrying. We all have to shop etc but for Gods sake don’t brush past me while coughing in my face! I’ve had to glare and ask people to move away numerous times. I’m not on the frontline but cannot work so our income has halved. Everyone and the economy getting back to normal is the priority so let’s all obey the rules so we can get back to normal sooner rather than later FFS. Otherwise we are all here until the end of the year!

I read a report that it had to be over 10m if you were behind a jogger or cyclist.

I'm sure that many of the markers are not actually 2m apart anyway. I am a lot shorter than that, and couldn't lie between two of them comfortably.

We've been wondering about this. Im high risk but dont have a letter. I've been acting almost as if and now decided to walk v ealry or v late to try to avoid people but get us out. I'm really concerned about being behind a cyclist or runner or if 2m isn't enough. Or if its airborne for a few minutes and you could walk into it.

There's a lot of pavements and paths where you can't pass at 2m.

Ispini I am with you. People seem to have little concept of what 2m looks like. To those still in imperial measurements - its 6'6". Yet most people particularly cyclists breeze past at barely a metre. I find it stressful going out for my daily walk because of this, and can't imagine how bad it is in shops, as self isolating apart from one trip out for exercise each day.

Probably not no.

Stay home then if it bothers you so much. Problem sorted!

Official advice in Australia and nz is 1.5meters!

Peope also seem to forget it lived on surfaces like petrol pumps, what people have touched in the supermarket, door handles. More chance catching it from a surface.

Two metres is not enough to keep you completely safe from getting the virus, no. But it is not meant to be. That's why people in vulnerable groups aren't supposed to be going out at all.

For the rest of us, 2m is enough to make it much less likely we'll get the virus and therefore slow the rate at which it spreads through the population, so that we don't all get ill at the same time and overload the NHS and die for lack of equipment.

But unless you are in the vulnerable group, and staying at home completely, you should expect that at some point you'll get the virus. Most of us should expect to get it, most of us will be completely fine, and we hope that there will be sufficient resources to be able to treat everyone who needs it.

If you're 2m away from someone coughing like mad then no, it's not enough. People who aren't showing symptoms though, 2m is okay. I'm more concerned about touching surfaces in public.

@fabbychix

But I suspect the hand mouth contact transmission is safer than respiratory droplets.

Yes it lives on surfaces, BUT not usually for long in an an 'active' form. So theres all the stats about 3 days on plastic ect...but they do usually mention it is in an inactive form. People just dont tend to hear that part cause they are too busy disinfecting their mail lol.

Yabu to start yet ANOTHER corona thread .
Is there literally nothing else to talk about these days ?

Hmm so maybe we should stay in.

Theres a difference between vulnerable (us) and v high risk who are shielding. So I really dont want to get it as I suspect it wouldn't end well, so maybe we shouldnt be walking. We have been going 7am and seeing v few people, havent been in shops or anywhwre else, washing food etc

GP said to me this morning (I have a lot of anxiety problems) that you’d have to be bloody unlucky to catch it via a socially distant walk - unless your immune system is shot to pieces already and you’re shielding, that’s a different matter entirely .

She said that a massive percentage of the UK will not have had it at all, and whilst you have to assume everyone you see has it, the vast majority will not - as well as that you need to meet sort of certain conditions for transmission . It is absolutely right to always try to stay as far away as possible but she said eg if someone walks briefly past you (seconds), no coughing etc, that’s not a huge worry .

I get it though . I’m really struggling tonight . My anxiety has gone to food shopping though . It’s hell on Earth, I absolutely get it .

As it stands though she doesn’t want me to go to shops, chemist, etc etc but very, very happy for me to go for long walks in the village, beach etc . Said that’s a very low risk activity , with lots of benefits for health .

@fuckingshattered

Why did the gp not want you to go shopping?Because she thinks it will be bad for your anxiety or because she thinks it is too risky for people in general (ie different to the current official advice)?