You are allowed to get fresh air, alone and well away from others

[Borkins]

This is actual government guidelines
Yet some folk seem to think if you leave your house at all, you are a Covid spreading demon.
I fear lots of tension around this. See lots of very preachy, judgey posts on social media.
You cannot expect people to get not a single breath of air for months on end.

I've read everywhere that walking 2 metres away from eachother outside is fine.
Are poeple saying it isn't? Do you have sources?

No outside exercise in Italy now.

Is this link saying that even people with symptoms can go out to exercise if they stay away from people?

www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-stay-at-home-guidance/stay-at-home-guidance-for-households-with-possible-coronavirus-covid-19-infection

Everyone is now saying people should not travel - for day trips to the seaside, walks in the countryside, for holidays or to second homes - the police, government, tourist boards, everyone, is now saying this. Shocking and disgusting foolish and selfish behaviour being reported on the news.

I got an absolute roasting on another thread for saying we were going out for a walk with a friend & staying 2m apart. We have been and I don't believe we put anyone at risk, and passed noone else en route. We then sat 2m+ apart in the garden and had a cup of tea. I hope the idiots who are not practicing social distancing don't spoil it for those who are sensible. The holier-than-thous can also get lost.

We have just this minute had the weekly 'what's on in X village' leaflet we always get posted through the door and it's advertising TWO different coffee morning get togethers this week. Fund raising.

??????

So that's a wonderful message to all the ditherers in our villagers that it's fine to meet up ....

We then sat 2m+ apart in the garden and had a cup of tea.

You didn't hand her the tea then? Or touch the mug and handle that your friend then touched? Then took it back from her, carried the mug back inside after she'd finished?

Personally I don't think those with gardens should be going out at all - the open public spaces should be reserved for those without their own green space.

Not saying we shouldn't observe social distancing and obviously we should avoid crowds but surely the virus concentration in the air outdoors would be far lower than if you were in an enclosed space with another person
are people considering whether or not they should keep their windows open indoors?

Ultraviolet light kills viruses does it not, so the air outdoors should be safer?
Perhaps we should be staying 2m apart outdoors but only one person per any given volume of of air space indoors?

Completely agree with OP - going out for a walk in the countryside isn't at all comparable with visiting a crowded beach, going on the Tube etc, and is surely far less risky than visiting any shop or supermarket.

We were out first thing this morning at the quietest dog walking spot we know of locally (everyone's clinging on to their real secrets) - drove there looking for rainbows with the kids en-route - walked through the woods... we saw two other people - both of whom changed distance to stay away and it benefited my very fragile mental health no end.

I am so worried about mental health during a lockdown. I so hope people learn to distance :(

the open public spaces should be reserved for those without their own green space.

I run around the same lake every Saturday. I see next to no one. I do it very early. Every January there are a few new people who turn up, relalise they don't like running and give up. We say hi but know they won't stay. I have made up names for most of the regulars. We ran and walked around each other and avoided contact this Saturday.

I have to give that up, because I have a very small garden. I don't think so. I will practise good social distancing, I will be respectful, I might even start going even earlier but I'm not sure why people are so intent that they have a special status. They haven't cared about these places ever before.

Just been for a walk around our estate. It was extremely quiet, but I was very pleased that anyone we did see crossed the road, or walked on the grass etc (as did we). No kiddies in the playground. Looks like our community is definitely practicing social distancing.

You didn't hand her the tea then? Or touch the mug and handle that your friend then touched? Then took it back from her, carried the mug back inside after she'd finished?
Wiped with hospital Clinelle wipes in case you are interested.

These restrictions could go on for months. We need to aim for a level of restriction that weand our kidscan actually live with.

On some of these threads I'm being increasingly reminded of the early days of the HIV/AIDS pandemic (80s-90s, early 2000s). Remember the "abstinence-only" people? There was an awful lot of shrill squeaking from some quarters that everyone needed to abstain for all sex until they got married (at, like, age 28 or something).

The trouble with that kind of advice is that, while on the surface it might sound like the safest solution, in practice people find it unbearably hard and can't stick to it for long enough. And then when they do start having sex they figure that they "may as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb" and don't even try to reduce their risk level, not least because they don't have any practical ideas about how they could have sex while reducing risk.

We know that STIs are best prevented by being practical and offering people realistic advice that they are likely to be able to stick to, long-term. Generally, that means helping them to cut out the big risks while accepting some smaller ones.

That's the most sensible post I've read on here in weeks user147

Well said @Mustbetimeforachange

👍🏽

I took the children out for a walk today very local to us (prior to the pandemic we used to go daily) found a very quiet spot and didn't see anyone for about 40 minutes and a small family gave us a wide berth.

About 10 minutes later a man with his two dogs starts approaching us quickly with his phone in his hand (it appeared he was taking photos of our DC) screaming at me that I'm a fucking idiot and should not be outside the house socialising..

I asked him to stop taking photos of the children and he screamed for me to phone the police because they won't do anything about it.

Sat at home v upset. Cried and shaken up.

@MrsTerryPratchett Sorry, I should have really singled out exercising as an exception - if you're running or cycling it's fine, but people having picnics and playing games with toddlers - it seems unfair that they could be doing that at home and allowing those without garden access to use the green spaces more safely. I say this as someone with a small garden and a child.

Oh, and dog walkers, obviously. They need the space.

Cheers @peachgreen

I am so worried about mental health during a lockdown. I so hope people learn to distance :(

Me too @Scruffyoak