BBC article-how to socialise under new rules

[VaTeLaverLesMains]

Social distancing: A practical guide to how to socialise now https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-52848793

Just read this and thought worth sharing for people who can have people round.

Big for those fellow shielders

It's a ridiculous article.

I have been sticking to the BBC as a sensible source of news throughout this but maybe I need to think again.

He’s not a bog standard GP, he has a Masters in Public Health. I think a lot of the article is very extreme, but he isn’t entirely unqualified.

It’s not just extreme, it’s irresponsible.

I thought we weren’t supposed to be changing behaviour based on whether we’ve had it or not, due to not knowing how immunity works?

Partly but also it gives people the excuse to do what the hell they like and if they're pulled up they can just say "i've already had the virus" whether they have or not.

People are pretty much doing what they want anyway now though.

And before anyone screams at me, the author isn't an 'expert'. He's just a bog-standard GP who got himself a sweet gig on the telly.

I think I feel a bit sorry for him. Cleary lockdown has got the better of him and he’s lost all sense of reality if he thinks this is an article people can seriously. It really comes across like a piss take in parts - the fact that it’s not is actually quite sad.

He’s not a bog standard GP, he has a Masters in Public Health. I think a lot of the article is very extreme, but he isn’t entirely unqualified

Point taken - bog standard GP was maybe a bit unfair, but he's still by no means an expert in the field of virology and has no particular background in the area.

If he wants to section off his garden with masking tape and tell fat older men to bring their own cutlery, that's fine. But he has no particular authority to tell other people to take such extreme measures.

They obviously don't require basic maths to do a medical degree. If we all had 2m poles and spun round without touching each other, we'd actually be 4m apart from each other!

@Pinkblueberry Yep. It's quite depressing.

"You could ask your guests to set their alarms for every 45 minutes or every hour in a staggered way, then everyone could wash their hands when their alarm goes off. If you're hosting, say to everyone "we're all going to wash our hands once an hour".

You could also have a sign somewhere in the toilet that says "wash your hands".

Now, I know that Doctor Xand has his fans among the ladies, but if I were to get an invite to his house, it'll be a 'no' from me.

my mum has a pg dip in public health (so only slightly less qualified but sadly (?) not a tele doctor) ... I'll have to tell her she's good to start issuing instructions!

You need to find some way of measuring. You could get a two-metre pole, a bamboo cane, a tape measure or a broom or whatever you can improvise with, hold it and spin around in a circle - everyone needs to be able to do that without knocking into each other.

And this could result in many injuries and trips to A&E. In fact, it'll be part of our New Normal. Nurse: "how did you do that? Oh wait, have you had those bamboo poles out in the garden again...?"

Jourdain11 that reminds me of the equally ridiculous BBC article a few weeks back about the ‘clap for Carers’ potentially leading to a rise in a&e visits due to people getting up too quickly from the sofa after sitting down all day...

Maybe you should just grab the tallest person at the event and swing them round a few times to get an idea of the 2 metre distance? Oh wait no. That would violate social distancing rules. Back to that 2 metre pole and bamboo cane which I, like everyone else, just happens to have hanging around the house.

He's also assuming that all six people are from different households and that you need to be 2m from the perimeter of your garden.

Talk about making a mountain out of a molehill.

@beela

He's also assuming that all six people are from different households and that you need to be 2m from the perimeter of your garden.

Talk about making a mountain out of a molehill.

Yeah, I was thinking that this (all from different households) would be rather unlikely...

@Drivingdownthe101

Jourdain11 that reminds me of the equally ridiculous BBC article a few weeks back about the ‘clap for Carers’ potentially leading to a rise in a&e visits due to people getting up too quickly from the sofa after sitting down all day...

Lol, I didn't see that one. I suspect that if someone had orthostatic hypotension to that degree, they'd know to be careful when standing up!!

What a load of fear inducing nonsense.

'Young, slim, females'

So the virus can come through fences now?! FFS.

@IcedPurple

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought it was utterly ridiculous!

"Disinfect the entire world every time someone breathes....."

Imagine being invited to one of his bbqs.

"Hi Maggie, it's a time of deadly disease transmission but hey, sprint through to the garden while I follow you with the carbolic spray. Pick up a bamboo cane and we have Dead or Alive on the music system to help you spin right round.
Bill? No he's ok. He spun too many times, fell sideways and landed on John's broom handle. He spilt his coleslaw as well.

That alarm? It's handwash everyone. Form a socially distanced line and we'll all head for the sink. You each have a towel on your own peg.
Clean the toilet when you've been Janet. By the way I've removed the paper but we have a spray attachment on the garden hose."
Sounds a real rip snorter of an evening.

I gave all that “advice” a stiff ignoring!

What a ridiculous article.

@maggienolia

Thank you for my second lol of the day - my first came from FB when someone on our local music scene pointed out that the new legislation has elevated "Funeral Orgy" from Gothic band name to legal defence......

I thought I had paranoia down to a fine art, but this writer takes the biscuit.

All the stats show that the young, females and those with good BMI (there must be a better term than that but you know what I mean) are at far less risk of death from coronavirus.

Some of the specifics in the article might seem a bit over the top but the general message of "Don't forget there's a deadly disease around, which you have to protect yourselves and your loved ones from" is a very good one.

Sadly I don't think that many people will follow the advice once they get together in a garden. A local taxi firm here has advertised socially distanced lifts home "after you've had a few" at a friend's BBQ. I wanted to comment that you shouldn't be drinking that much because you'll forget to socially distance, but didn't dare.....