Campsites- surely they’re one of the worst places to spread infection.

[Polar0pposite]

Clearly VT has never stayed in one.

Grubby, humid shower blocks and loos, cramped washing up areas covered in germs from the last family washing plates and clothes.Playgrounds, shops....

We have a very small caravan and wondered if we might be able to visit a UK campsite in the summer. I think some things would work ok, eg 50% occupancy so pitches were far apart, on-site restaurants and cafes shut but yes, it's the shared washing facilities that would be problematic. You could supply disinfectant for people to use before they took a shower etc but who knows if people would use it. I guess they could close shower blocks and only open up to people in caravans with their own washing facilities.

I don't camp, ever. But if I did, my tent would almost certainly be 2m away from the next tent, unless I was Sid James.

We have been camping for years, most campsites have more than 2 metres between units. You don’t have to use camping washing up facilities, just take a washing up bowl and wash at tent,caravan,camper.
The only facility we need is a toilet.
We’ve been on campsite that are a lot cleaner than some houses.

The opposite on the ground it does not spread very much outdoors and if pitches are spread out then contact is less than in a hotel ..where you interact more with other staff and guests. I go camping and only ever speak to the staff on check in, hotel you spend a lot more time eg in the bar, restaurant etc.

Obviously festival camping where you are on top of each other is different but camping holidays would be lower risk with a few modifications eg more cleaning of the communal areas.

It’s not the pitches but facilities. It’s hard to keep anything clean camping and really the washing up areas would need to be disinfected after each family, ditto showers after each use all that spraying water. We’ve camped a lot. A lot of campsites simply aren’t set up for it with only a few showers right next to each other and water running under cubicles from other shower users.🤮

I'd agree the shared facilities are the problem. Everyone using same loos and showers

You could do washing up in a bowl at your tent (I don't think I've ever used actual washing up facilities when camping), wash yourself using a bowl, soap and flannels and possibly take your own portable loo. I usually go to very basic campsites and I could imagine them opening but asking campers to bring a toilet! The only possible issue I could see would be using the water taps, but good, regular hand washing would solve that I'm sure. Playgrounds and shops also wouldn't need to be open, if the campsite has them

I really want to go camping!! I'll find a way if I'm allowed.

I imagine, like every work place at the moment, (every managed leisure facility is also someone's work place) tent camp sites will be assessed individually and changes made accordingly if poss. in order to be safe to use.

What i want to know is: will they open caravan sites by late July?!?!?

The Qs are always lengthy at times for facilities. Factor in social distancing too and extra time cleaning and people won’t bother with hygiene. Germs on gates, doors, styles everywhere. Then germs breeding and multiplying in hot tents spread into shops in local area.

When it is safe to do so I would go camping to a good campsite with widespread pitches, but our camper has a toilet, shower, and a sink in both bathroom and kitchen area so we would just not use the toilet blocks at all. I think the risk would be much lower than most holidays, especially as when we are travelling we can use the loo in the camper and not service station ones.

You can but not everybody camping has the money for those facilities. Also farmers who own some campsites are often busy farming, putting in extra measures to prevent infection and monitor would be unlikely.

Where do camped vans empty chemical loos,fill up water tanks etc? An influx of big numbers of people in camper vans camping with lower levels of hygiene, living in hot cramped spaces is surely bonkers at the moment.

Motorhome owner here... chemical toilet gets emptied in chemical disposal toilet point, which is often outside or in separate standalone ‘building.’ Clearly given you’re emptying your loo you aren’t gonna be touching your face anyway and you wash your hands as soon as it’s emptied. So I don’t see how you’d pick anything up/ pass anything on there. As for filling the fresh water, you are just touching an outside tap, again wash your hands before and after. Disposing of grey water, we’ll you just drive over the disposal point, flick the lever on the tank on your van and off it goes. Again you’d wash your hands immediately after, but you’d only be touching the tap on your own van anyway. As to lower levels of hygiene?!?? I’ve spent months living and travelling in my motorhome, generally camping wild. We have plentiful hot water heated via gas (LPG). The pump runs off the leisure battery charged by the solar panel. We shower daily. Dishes get washed in hot water after each meal. Hands get washed in hot water as and when needed. Other then filling up the tank, emptying grey waste, topping up LPG and emptying the toilet it’s no different or less hygienic than being at home.

Depends on amount of people sharing and quality of facilities in van and on campsite. 4 people sharing a loo, shower and sink alongside eating in an area you could swing a cat in height of summer.

Not sure where the lower levels of hygiene comes from?
If schools are safe tonopen with handles cleaned 2x daily and loos cleaned 1x at the end of the day then campsites would be safe.
Maybe reduced numbers, they could close showers and or say own toilet is a must. Some campsites near us introduced contactless check in, increased cleaning of all facilities prior to lock down and i know they are cleaner than our school with only 50 kids in.

I think the risk is lower than a hotel etc due to all the suraces in a room. (So think rooms would be ok 1 week on 1 off).
The issue is mainly to surrounding population due to people visiting things etc. And how busy walks would be.

You are camping on the wrong sites OP.
Small family run with basic facilities are much cleaner and nicer.

We stay in plenty of smaller family run sites. Lovely but not really set up for CV.

Who is going to check site facilities, check vans for own showers and loss, check shower and loo blocks are closed l, stay closed,being cleaned immediately....?

I don’t see how 4 people sharing a sink, loo and shower in our motorhome is any less hygienic than us sharing in our house? Our house has one shower, like our van. Our house as one toilet, like our van. Our house has one hand basin like our van. Our house has one sink like our van. In the van the toilet, shower and hand basin are in a separate room like they are at home. The van shower is in its own cubicle (it isn’t one that you pull out from the sink like you do in some vans). We clean the van (when we are away) as frequently as we clean the house. I really can’t understand how this is less hygienic? Admittedly our motorhome is pretty big (the walk-in shower is larger than the one in our house for example). We spent 5 months living in it a few years back and none of us got ill (as in D&V) so presumably that might have something to do with hygiene levels? We are completely self sufficient so don’t share facilities (toilet blocks) as we don’t need to use them (hence not using campsites). As already stated it is easy (and essential under normal circumstances) to be careful with hand hygiene when using chemical toilet dumps, emptying grey waste and topping up fresh water.

Then germs breeding and multiplying in hot tents

You're either a troll or a moron.

Why would you have an opinion on something your so ignorant about?

germs breeding and multiplying in hot tents

You've got 'germs' and 'teenagers' confused again. That's not how coronavirus works - it multiplies inside human cells, afaik.

"only a few showers right next to each other and water running under cubicles from other shower users.🤮"

Unless someone is actually infected and coughing heavily at the time I think the risk is pretty low. Soap renders the virus ineffective, and it's not like you get down on the floor and splash your face with the water there.

@tableclothing

I think op is confusing coronavirus with ebola. Or cholera. Or a hybrid super bug of the two.

Desperate for camp sites to open up. I’d love to use this summer to zip off to see the parts of England I’ve never seen. I’ve brought a tent ready for when we get the go ahead.

In a house you’re not going to the toilet, washing, preparing food and eating 4x people in a space half the size of a box room.

Showrooms get steamy, water splashes and sprays with a very high turn over.

No not a troll just think it’s bonkers. Clearly some think their right to a holiday trumps everything.