To think seeing family in their garden is safer?

[VodkaCranberry2]

So we can see one member of another household outside 2m apart... surrounded by other strangers 2m apart where we don’t know where they’ve been/who they’ve seen, but we can’t social distance in our family’s garden where we know they’ve been isolating/only going to the shops? Is this not ridiculous?

@GrimmsFairytales Great isn’t it. I have a 6 month old and a husband who is working away so a socially distant walk with another adult would keep my sanity. Boris has said use some common sense and of course the rules would never cover every possibility but there are a lot of single parents and others like me that would hope for some kind of clarity/guidance on this issue.

Please can people actually read the new guidelines on the gov.uk website , linked to by a poster above before they post their response on here based on the previous guidelines or what the Daily Mail suggested may happen.

You cannot meet in your garden, incase they need the loo!!

That seems like such a weak reason to say no to gardens.

There is still some confusion here. If you are in England you can meet one other person outdoors, as long as you stay 2 meters apart. It does not have to be the same person every time! So, @Genderwitched, you can meet your daughter on one outing, and meet one parent on another outing and the other parent on a third outing. You just can’t meet them all at once.

The notion of merging households into “social bubbles” was rumoured, but this is not what happened.

@cardibach I think you said you live in Wales, so I am not sure about whether you are allowed to meet anyone... But if you were in England, you could certainly meet your daughter (outside, 2 meters away) and that would not in any way prevent her partner from seeing his mum.

The rule is one person can meet with one person to exercise (or sunbathe!) in a public place. It does NOT have to be the same person every day. You do not have to choose and stick to that one person.

Bluebellpainting

They've just said on BBC1 that grandparents could collect a child and see them outside the house. So you could see your mum on your own, your child could see her on their own, but you can't both see her at once despite being outside and social distancing.

@Bluebellpainting you can go for a walk with your friend as long as you are able to walk with 2m gap between you so you could do this in a park but not on pavement. You could also both take a picnic blanket to a grassy space and sit down 2 m apart for a chat

@Wannabegreenfingers, thanks for sharing that. If they are advising this then it seems a big error to not have spelled it out on the updated ‘FAQ what you can and cannot do’ page on the gov website and in the 60 page CoVid Strategy document.

Socially distanced socialising is much safer than all the workplaces people have gone back to but that's not the point. they dont care if you see your family. They want the plebs back at work creating wealth for the wealth creators. They know if people have to work and the message is confusing enough people will use their common sense and add on a little bit more risk to do actual important things like see family. In 2 it 3 weeks time when we're fucked again they will blame us.

Fucking hopeless conniving cunts.

You can’t sit in a garden in case you need their loo. Did he actually say that? (Not watching at moment as feeding little one) If so ffs- the government want us to use common sense and be responsible but can’t even trust us to sit in a garden without using the loo?!

@BiggestJulie is correct for England. I don’t know the other nations guidelines.

You can’t sit in a garden in case you need their loo. Did he actually say that?

Yes he said exactly that.

But equally I can use the same public toilet as anyone else...

I be,I’ve @wafflyversatile has it nailed.

It was explained later that you might want to use the loo...which would mean going inside, and also no one would be able to see that you were always 2 meters apart

They would if it were your front garden and I have seen loads of people meeting at opposite ends of driveways and gardens for a chat.

I'll be seeing my mum in my garden. She won't come in the house and we can easily stay 2m away

Boris didn't say but the reporter on bbc news special did, but he did specify no meeting in gardens and yes you could be fined!! The mind boggles.

People will be bring their own chairs, drinks and a bucket!

The guidelines on the government website are really clear. Everyone knows it does not mean gardens but continue to try and find ways round it all. If people are unable to understand the guidelines it is really worrying as they really are worded clearly.

No idea why people are reading newspaper headlines/articles on this as they have proven to be untrustworthy during this pandemic. Even the bloody ministers can't get their own guidelines correct on TV. Our local newspaper has had to retract 2 stories today due to reporting what various ministers have said and have got it wrong.

The point in just seeing one person rather than several (so in a group of 2 people if its not your own household) is pretty obvious IMO.

@Bluebellpainting, no, I don’t think anyone official said that. The BBC commentator on Radio 4 explained that that was a likely explanation, and also because they “couldn’t police” you in your garden (i.e. couldn’t check you were 2 meters apart).

Anyway, yes, they are absolutely treating us like children, and although they suggest common sense, in fact the rules make no common sense at all.

I have an elderly relative who lives alone and
Is shielding. I'm currently dropping off groceries once a week when I can't get her an online delivery. She's not going to get in her car to drive to a park to meet me. I really see no issue in me sitting with her in her garden at least 2m away for an hour or two a week to give her some company as this is really taking its toll on her, she's had virtually no human company for nearly a couple of months! If Boris would be happy for me to
do so in a park, then surely I could do so in her garden where she wouldn't have to drive anywhere.

You cannot meet in your garden, incase they need the loo!!

Why are people more likely to need the loo in a garden than on a long walk

Why does it matter whether people can't always see you're 2m apart? Apart from the local neighbourhood stasi I'm sure most people don't care

It’s deliberately vague nonsense and totally London centric. Many people locally have gardens bigger than some parks and why can’t the pee in the garden? They can’t come to the garden but can go to a crowded park. Just silly.

@cologne4711, front gardens, back gardens driveways all specifically defined as part of the home and def not allowed for meeting people outside your household. However, if your driveway is next to your neighbour’s driveway you can each sit in your own driveway and chat, because neither of you has left home.

The point in just seeing one person rather than several (so in a group of 2 people if its not your own household) is pretty obvious IMO.

How is it obvious? I could see my sister in the morning to play tennis, and her partner on a walk in the afternoon. As they live together i've seen all of the household, just not at the same time. If anything it increases the risk as I'm going out more, in order to see them one at a time. Surely the risk is lower if I sat 2m away in their garden.

My feeling is that younger children are going to be the problem when they go back to school. How on earth will you stop them running to each other or staying 2m apart in class.

The bit the government are not saying, but they are saying most places overseas with proper tracing and testing in place, is that it is very, very rare for children to transmit this virus, particularly to adults. It is rare for them to get it (but not impossible), but then it even rarer for them to transmit it. In Australia they have been having an argument with the teachers union about them going back to work, as they are arguing scared, but the scientists keep saying to them: we are yet to see a case of transmission from a child (meaning primary school or below) to an adult, and that the cases of teachers catching it in Australian schools occured from another teacher, ie presumably in the staff room. That is really why they are not worried about the littlies social distancing, because they barely give it to other children and even more rarely give it to adults. That doesn't mean that if somebody was highly vulnerable, like elderly grandma, one would worry about a child going up and hugging her (although the Swiss are confident enough to allow even that), but the risks to a primary school teacher is fundmentally from the parents dropping off and the other teachers, not the children, even if they don't socially distance. People have tried to cite that Denmark's rate has gone up when they opened the primary schools - but it was minor, Denmark already allowed gatherings of less than 10 people, and it opened hairdressers, beauty and massage salons, optometrists, podiatrists and chiropractors from the week afterwards. If there was much of an increase in rate (and it does not seem to have been very significant as they are now about to open secondary schools), these factors are far more obviously risky.

Its clearer and clearer that government guidelines in england are not really designed for keeping us safe and are more like rules for the sake of rules. We need to look after ourselves and make our own judgements sometimes and the fact youre asking this shows that you are trying to be safe
I conpletely agree that its likely safer to sit in the garden of a family member that is mostly isolating whilst distancing, than it would be to go sit and picnic with them in a park.