Toilets and reopening the high street and countryside

[chomalungma]

It's all very well saying they are going to reopen shops etc - to make them Covid secure. We can all go to the countryside.

But....what about toilets. I know this seems like a really boring question - I wonder if it's even been discussed in Cabinet.

But if cafes / pubs etc remain closed - then shops are going to be the main toilets available - and public toilets.

It's going to be very difficult. Shops will probably not want to have their toilets open because of Covid.

I wouldn't want to do a High Street visit without knowing I could access a toilet.

And as for going to the countryside - well normally it's the pub / cafe / public toilets.

Luckily DS is way past needing to be changed when out. Because changing tables are going to be an issue as well

AIBU to think this may not have been thought about in Cabinet?

I think it will be in the late phases but it's really going to restrict what i can do until they open :(

Au naturel like everyone in the countryside? When you are 16 miles from anywhere you don't run back to the loo.

Don't try a shewee- they are crap- just find a bush bigger than your arse.

Remember to look in front as well as behind to make sure that you are not visible to onlookers with phones.

Put your tissue in a bag and take it home or shake dry.

Sorry and if it is a poo- bury it- take a small trowel with you.

If people could be trusted to wash their hands before and after using the toilet to avoid contamination, it wouldn't really be an issue to have them open. But people are gross.

I don't know the answers. I don't think toilets themselves present more of an issue than people touching things in shops and putting them back on the shelf. The main infection risks would be the toilet handle and the taps, as well as the door handle.

Toilet flush handle: fine if they are the sensor ones
Taps: fine if sensor controlled (but costs money to convert both)
Door handles: No idea of the solution.

I'm not an expert but I would have thought that toilets would have to be cleaned, or wiped down , after every use so I doubt shops will open theirs. Male urinals would be OK - quick shake, wash your hand and dry them in one of those Concorde air dryers.

The main risk is to the staff who have to clean the loos. Should I face corporate manslaughter/insurance claim if one of my staff dies after cleaning the loos or should I keep the loos locked...hhmmm

No dine in means no requirements to have public toilets.

For outside poo a doggy poo bag is better

For outside poo a doggy poo bag is better

Quite hard to get the aim right- maybe a carrier or a large ikea blue bag?

This is the question I keep coming back to. I keep seeing people have a lovely time on beaches/beauty spots miles from home with picnics and booze etc - it looks really nice and I’m glad everyone is having such a great time after a difficult few months - but I have no idea where everyone is weeing (or worse!). I think I’d struggle to enjoy a beach or countryside day out not knowing where I could go if I needed the loo.

We all have to learn to live with the small risk associated with using public toilets, and manage/minimise that risk with regular cleaning, proper handwashing etc. I think sensor operated taps and flushes will be extremely popular.

Just found a (possible) solution to the door problem:

Don't see hy toilets couldn't reopen with sensible adjustments.

We went to the coast yesterday. The toilets were open 10-4.

The public toilets at the beach near me are open, with 2 marshals ensuring cleanliness and distance. No reason why that can't be done everywhere.

As regards the countryside, most of doesn’t have toilets anyway..al fresco weeing is the only choice.
For the high street, I don’t think we’re back to recreational shopping taking all day. Go to the shop, buy what you need, go home again. Toilets would encourage people to stay out longer perhaps?

Air dryers are not a good idea, they’re already a problem in spreading bacteria – the hot air basically blows stuff into the surrounding air, and some machines actually store germs inside them – and they do the same thing with a virus, so they’re really best avoided. Paper towels are a much lower risk. Loos, unless they’re cleaned after every use, can have small amounts of faecal matter (shit) and urine left on the seats, just waiting to be transferred to the next person who uses them. Also, they tend not to have lids, flushing them wafts stuff into the air, so the whole cubicle will basically be coated with traces of leftover urine and faecal matter from every user. So, if you hang up your bag or your coat it can be contaminated with all those nasties. That’s why the lid should always be closed on a loo before you flush it. Keeping public loos properly clean would be extremely expensive, not to mention time-consuming. Having supported a friend on hospital visits who had to be careful not to pick up infections of any kind I’ve heard far too much about this kind of thing, and that was before the Coronavirus outbreak. You can find a lot of articles on loo hygiene online, here’s one for starters:
www.webmd.com/lung/news/20200417/paper-towels-beat-air-dryers-against-viruses#1

I’m not talking the countryside, those who live in cities are somewhat restricted in range if there’s no toilets open. I’ve no objections to squatting behind a bush in the middle of nowhere but not in my local park!

I live in central London near a park. Currently there are hundreds of people there on a daily basis, and are having picnics and drinking wine, beer, etc. There is one automated toilet. Often broken. No option to use any of the early cafes or pubs.

Result is that everyone is going to the loo in the bushes, against walls and trees, etc.

No reason why that can't be done everywhere.

Public toilets maybe but why should a business open themselves up to legal claims and put their staff at potential risk to provide loos?

That was meant to say nearby cafes, not early cafes!!!!

Covid is present in faeces in large amounts so my Dr friends tell me. So a public toilet could potentially be a huge infection risk 🤢

The toilet is open in the supermarket I shop in.

Public toilets are a complete virus hazard with this. This is the problem with the 'it's fine to be outside' brigade.

Quick trips to the High Street - it's going to be a long slow recovery, isn't it.

I wonder if they have discussed this in Cabinet?

I'm still going by the rule of being close enough to home if I need the loo.

And for those on the beaches, don't forget that this won't have been through the treatment at the works. It's quite possible to catch other viruses other than covid from dirty seawater.