Self-isolating = not going out at all!!

[MasterOfCaffeine]

Can't believe I even need to point it out but I've seen so many threads where people say in one breath that they're self-isolating, and in the other they say that they're going for daily walks on quiet roads etc.

Self-isolating means staying indoors and not going outside, except in your own enclosed garden. No walks, no trips to the shop, nothing.

If you are avoiding contact with people but still going for walks then you are quarantining, not isolating.

It makes a difference because by misusing the phrase, the real meaning of it becomes vague and people who really should be self-isolation end up leaving the house because they think it is all right to do so.

Yep I've seen loads of people out walking these days. I live in a street where we all have gardens, surely if you want free air you can sit out there for a bit

@SexTrainGlue yes that advice is ridiculous. Self isolating should mean you shouldn't be going out at all.

What gets my goat is the amount of posts on here sneering at people 'suddenly' going out for walks/exercise, like they have no right to be doing this as they didn't before.

How is it so difficult to understand why people are now suddenly doing this? Not everyone has a big house, garden, conservatory and husband and kids for company.

The quicker everyone co-operates the quicker this will be over.

It will never be over and I think it's a falsehood to think the spread can be totally stopped. This virus is now here and we will live with it until we have a vaccine. In the meantime, we need to steady the infection rate to ensure anyone who is very sick has access to medical care to support them through it.

That means following the rules set out by the government, but it doesn't mean vilifying anyone who does so, just because they are not living up to a even stricter standard someone else finds easy.

We have been told we are ok to go out once a day for exercise. It is absolutely fine for people to do that whilst observing social distancing guidelines.

@SexTrainGlue yes that advice is ridiculous. Self isolating should mean you shouldn't be going out at all.

No it doesn't. If you're SI because a household member might have symptoms, you are allowed to exercise outside.

No it doesn't. If you're SI because a household member might have symptoms, you are allowed to exercise outside.

I know they are allowed to. I think they shouldn't.

This may not help, but it made me smile anyhow

Love how everyone is a biologist now. This is more infectious than some diseases, but it is not airborne. It is a droplet infection. You should be perfectly safe if you follow all government advice, no need to make stuff up! Just to put it into context, measles has an R0 of 15. Norovirus has an R0 ~8. Covid has R0 of 2.5.

This is more infectious than some diseases, but it is not airborne. It is a droplet infection.

I'm definitely not a biologist, so this is a genuine question for people who know more than me - can't very tiny droplets be aerosolised and stay in the air for up to three hours?

Source: www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc2004973?query=featured_home

Related article: www.bbc.com/future/article/20200317-covid-19-how-long-does-the-coronavirus-last-on-surfaces

If this is the case, symptomatic people really shouldn't be going for walks. I'm open to the possibility that I've misinterpreted it, though.

I personally don't feel safe going out, the government has said to only go out for essentials, to me that means food delivies until I can no longer get a slot (I always have three weeks of slots pre booked but I think I'm gonna struggle to get any new slots going forwards now) and then I will be completely eating all of the food in my flat until I HAVE to go outside, people are talking about 'popping' to the shop for bits like milk or a newspaper, these are not essential items that you will die without and I feel like the people going out multiple times a day are risking their health,

I will not be exercising outside as I've always preferred to excersise indoors and to start exercising out doors right now in the middle of a pandemic is crazy to me, people are dying in horrific ways, perfectly healthy people, and we need to protect ourselves and understand that for a couple of months we are going to have to just secure the hatches and wait out the storm.

@potter5 if I had a garden, I would agree with you. But I don't. I live in a flat with 4 children aged 5 and under. I will be going for daily exercise until the guidelines change. It is incredibly important for all of us and our sanity that the children get a chance to burn off energy in this way

I disagree op based on where people live. I live on the edge of nowhere and have been isolating for two weeks now. I go for a walk everyday and the only people I’ve seen are farm workers in the distance. Given that I should be shielding I’m very lucky to live somewhere truly isolated. If I lived in a town it would be very different for my family.

I'll be amazed if this is just 3 weeks of lockdown and am approaching it as potentially going on longer - which takes stamina and pacing.

Exercise out in the open is a key part of that, keeping my mind sharp and alert enough to keep working rather than fall into a 'sit at the desk all day' fug.

I am also very fortunate in that I live somewhere I can get out and about for my daily dose of exercise without ever really seeing many other people, and those are often in another field etc.