Country walk, couldn't believe my eyes, this is how it spreads...

[RapidRainbow]

We've been, like everyone else, walking more than usual. Today we walked a new route. The path was really tricky to SD on having to stop and go up against barbed fences to let people pass. We were wedged between a group carrying a pushchair down to a beauty spot (we didn't realise until we got there the insistence to go down the very steep rocky stepped path was because they were clearly gathering for a day out with other families as we saw approx. 20 people in groups in a clearing!). At one point we stopped so we didn't get too close to people in front and a family group behind us went past and I felt their presence on my back, you know that little brush against you! Then there was a group of 3 in their early twenties ish with one man coughing and sensed them very close behind so moved over to let them past. On both occasions a polite 'excuse me' would have been better so we could suitable SD as best we could.

We sat on a hill near a gate, we could see everyone going through it opened it with their hands. My DH and son used their feet to knock the catches open so we didn't have to touch the gate. If we have to touch a stiff gate, we instantly use our hand spray gel, I'm so glad we didn't need to do that today!

I watched as kids climbed over the gate, people opened the gate then rubbed their face or opened a drinks bottle or ran their hands through their hair! I estimated that in the 10 minutes we sat there, approx 20 people touched that gate and not one used a handgel or wipe etc afterwards.

It's not exact, but that would be 120 people in an hour and over a 10 hour day of a busy area, approx 1200 touching that one gate. Statisticly, some of them would be carrying Covid!

These will be the people who get Covid and say 'well I've only been to the Supermarket and out walking'!

I don't think I'm being overly cautious? I feel safe outside if we SD but I try to imagine every person and every surface could be carrying Covid to keep risks to a minimum.

We drove through some of the Peak District today. We never intended to stop as DH was only there to collect some work materials. Just as well as there were cars parked everywhere on narrow roads and tons of people.

I don't see the fun of walking with loads of other people at the best of times but certainly not now. The weather was not even good today, heavy showers and not that warm.

If the virus is so virulent it lives on packages, gates etc...why don’t we all have it?

OP you were there too.

Simple solution - don't go out walking.

@randomer
Brilliant

@FluffyKittensinabasket

If the virus is so virulent it lives on packages, gates etc...why don’t we all have it?

Exactly that. I’ve never washed the shopping. I don’t wear gloves and I hate the feel of all the alcohol in hand sanitiser. When I do the weekly shop I carry the bags into the house, wash my hands, put it all away and wash my hands again. Hands are washed immediately after a walk. That’s it. It’s a wonder we’re not dead, isn’t it?

FluffyKittensinabasket Sat 20-Jun-20 22:57:12
If the virus is so virulent it lives on packages, gates etc...why don’t we all have it?
.........

I thought we were supposed to sanitise packages and leave for a while before opning, open doors where possible using elbows, if not, wear gloves and afterwards wash hands thoroughly/sanitise.

You reminded me. We rip parcels open as soon as they’re delivered too.

The thing with threads like this is that one person's okay is another person's perilous risk. Ask any of those people touching the gate and they'd probably have their own bugbears about behaviour on the day.

If you want to do something constructive about this, perhaps contact whichever authority runs this area and see if you can help with signage or adaptations for the gates or something. People aren't going to react well to a thread like this, whereas clear messaging and hands-free options will help.

So your DH and DS added a bit more to the germ soup by using their walking boots on the latch, maybe they added in some tasty fox poo parasites to the mix.

life must and has to return to normal sometime, cure or no cure, vaccine or no vaccine

^ This.
And we must continue to assess our risk - with every trip to the grocery store, every invitation to a social event, every visit to a doctor/dentist, etc.
It's exhausting for us, but I think it's good for our children to see. I'm creating a "Ben Franklin" list for almost every event/opportunity that comes our way.
I'd say that logic and numbers should fuel our decisions, but every day is different. Every state is different (US).

Borrowing here, but my motto is Keep Calm and Assess On.
(And don't trust the bastards in charge...)

Or the media. They are so very bad here...

I’ve never washed groceries or quarantined deliveries.

I live and work out in countryside. We all have sanitiser and cloths for touching gates with. Because we have absolutely no faith in the common sense of any one else at all. Probably most random walkers are all clear. But neither I nor any other person who works out here want to take it back to infect our mums, so we're going to continue to assume that everyone is infectious. And judging by the way that everyone I've seen out and about for leisure purposes as opposed to work in the last week, probably a good thing. Most of them seem to have completely given up on the common sense hygiene stuff.

I completely agree with your post OP. It's very disrespectful to not SD if you can see that someone is obviously waiting respectfully to let others past. I've been on two circular walks in the last two weeks. First one only met locals who were SD-ing while chatting to neighbours and the last one most people did SD but not all and certainly not the over 70s!

We used our sleeves to open gates and washed our hands with sanitizer but two days later I came down with a temperature, aching lungs and loss of smell and taste. I'm now waiting for Covid-19 test results but the GP on 111 informed me they are not reliable. I checked this out and he's right - they are only 70% accurate. I have been really careful, except at the garage when I didn't have gloves or mask and also had to use their toilet!

My point is this - the virus has not gone away and we need to be careful.

Op. Why don’t you learn a language or read a book instead of counting people out on a walk ?

I think it's a matter of respect and courtesy and I'd be annoyed too. I think touching gate posts is fair enough, if you are worried, wear gloves but walking too close you is just rude. If people do this to me, I donsn exaggerated cough as they pass

Oh dear..... OP goes out for a walk in busy place and moans lots of others there...... yawn

If the virus is so virulent it lives on packages, gates etc...why don’t we all have it?

If the virus is not so very virulent - why did we and so many other countries lock down and trash their economies in doing so?

The virus physically is tiny. Even by virus standards! It's about 10x smaller than the flu virus. This makes it extremely vulnerable to uv light. By all estimations even in the shade it takes less than 1 second for the virus to be destroyed outside. More accurately it's around 0.3 seconds. There is a tiny risk of surface transmission but it's minute.

DH and I have been wondering what goes on in the minds of the people who seemingly believe this virus has now gone.

We didn't believe they could be so stupid as to believe our deceitful government.

If the virus is not so very virulent - why did we and so many other countries lock down and trash their economies in doing so?

Because nobody knew how this was going to play out. There simply wasn't the evidence to make truly informed decisions. so educated guesses and planning for the worst it has been

@compulsiveliar2019

If the virus is not so very virulent - why did we and so many other countries lock down and trash their economies in doing so?

Because nobody knew how this was going to play out. There simply wasn't the evidence to make truly informed decisions. so educated guesses and planning for the worst it has been

Because the risks were massively inflated by false narratives and pseudo science

Because the risks were massively inflated by false narratives and pseudo science

I don’t get this line of thought. UK locked down considerably albeit not as strict as some countries and govt figures show even with such considerable measures approx 42,000 positive cases have died (ONS puts it at least 10,000 higher). 42,000 deaths in my mind is a lot of deaths!). If there had been extremely light lockdown deaths would have been even higher.

I’m worry similarly to you op. The government & press have done such a good job of telling us to stay home & stay safe, that when i do venture out, it makes me worry about everything. I hope in time, I can be as relaxed as the other posters on here.

Before the lockdown, people here were demanding "Why wouldn't you?" when posters tentatively asked if they should still go on holiday/their cruise. They knew all the things and they wanted to do all the things. For thirteen long weeks, they have not had their way. Now they're back to knowing all the things and rather obnoxiously demanding that everyone else does all the things because they want their lives back. Having seen the multiple waves of complacent, all-knowing BS paraded across this site in February and March and the resulting holocaust in our care homes and hospitals, I would stick to reputable medical sources to inform your attitude to risk, OP.