Social distancing still the law but people seem to have forgotten this

[ColdCottage]

Is it just me or have people forgotten they are meant to stay 2m apart unless that's not possible in which case they can go up to 1m+??

I keep seeing photos on Facebook of friends cheek to cheek, holding babies etc. When I'm out and about people standing close socialising, touching each other when they are clearing not family (elbow knocking as a greeting so not 1m+)

I feel people should know this and it's socially awkward to remind them as adults of this but it's the law, not just guidance.

This is having an impact already. The COVID-19 reporting app was all pale pink for low numbers for a number of weeks and now today it's covered in medium and dark pink blocks where the numbers are going up again. This is the impact of people forgetting to social distance all the time.

What do you do if someone is clearly ignoring the rules, in person or on social media. Do you tell them or leave them to it?

Leave them to it. We're all adults and I'm not sure you can police what other people do.

I don't put photos on social media but, if I did then there would be lots of pics of me with other people, children, all playing together with no distancing etc. However this is exclusively with the kids that my kid has been at school with, so they've been mixing already so we have all judged there to be literally no difference as they have all been together anyway. So my social media would look like I was flouting every rule going but really it's just the people that my kids have been with since June 1st and we have all consented. Other than that we distance from everyone.

So my point is a) I don't think you can police others even if they are doing wrong and b) you don't really know what everyone's individual situation is

It's not a "Law" or a "Rule", it's a guideline.

The police aren’t going to arrest you for hugging someone.

How long should people stay away from their friends and family for in your opinion?

As already stated, it's guidance and not the law. And even if it's the law, you aren't the enforcer of it. So leave others alone. People must make their own decisions based on their own risk assessments- and factors other than one virus may be relevant to their decisions. If social media is causing you so much angst, stop using it.

You can no more control the actions of others than I can control the huge number of bloody pointless judgey threads on here about what what other people do about masks, social distancing and every other coronavirus subject.

It’s not the law op. I think you’re confused. It is a guideline.

It is their choice. If a friend decided to go white water rafting because it looks like fun and could not swim you wouldn't be able to stop them would you, and in this case they are reverting to something that was normality.

2m isn’t the law.

Wait for the Covid confident to start calling you a paranoid nutter for feeling this way....

It’s not law and people are able to make their own risk assessments. Don’t tell them that’s such a patronising thing to do.

I don’t think people should be afraid to speak up and mention it. We all have a social responsibility to keep everyone safe.

Social distancing will help keep people safe, people can still talk to each other etc from 2m away. It’s not like they can’t see each other.

As long as they don't expect me to join in I leave them to it. The covid app has been high for my area for a while but we haven't had a new case for a month.

It's not a law. Laws are passed in HOC from bills, debated and often amended.

Social distancing is recommended.

Gatherings of 30 or more are, apparently, unlawful currently.

It might be very important but it makes you sound like a bit of a prat spouting the law at people and therefore less likely to be listened to. Chill out on the school prefect act and speak to people like human beings. Or stop looking at FB!

And if people are flouting guidelines and posting on SM, you're not going to do yourself any favours posting the "law" either - you'll end up in a row. They know the guidelines already. They publicly don't want to follow them!
There's no good coming from calling out your friends on FB that way.

It is not the law.

There is no point saying anything to them, we all know the guidelines so if they choose not to do it they aren't going to listen to you.

Maybe people have given up because they were initially told all these regulations were to flatten the curve but now its been well and truly flattened. Yet we're being told the virus is here for years to come , isnt going away and many countries are seeing numbers rise again even after strict lockdown.

So yeah, maybe people have given up as there doesn't seem to be a long term plan and this isn't a natural way to live for years.

I don't have much respect for the it's not the law so fuck you brigade.
It should be about respect for each other.
Fine if your Covid confident and happy to not social distance and lick other consenting Covid Confident faces or whatever It is you want to do. But to just blatantly not give a shit and not distance from others who don't want to stand shoulder to shoulder, get closer than 2m or face lick is just selfish. Where possible we should all be staying at least 2m away from each other when possible.

Too many people can't be bothered to pause on a pavement on a wide area when they can see someone walking on the narrow bit up infront or Wait for some one to come through a narrow doorway because they can't be arsed or think its next to impossible to catch outside.
No allowance for thinking maybe this person infront of me is cautious because they have a child recent gone through cancer treatment with them/at home or they care for their 85yo elderly parent etc.or as I've seen someone post on mn recently, if you're that weak you should just stay at home.

People just need to just realise normality has gone. We all need to just think a bit more about why others maybe more cautious and not just in our desperation to get back to normal treat them with utter contempt.

There's so little social distancing going on where I am that until you have to queue to get in the shop, it's easy to completely forget that there's a pandemic going on.

If it's bothering you, all you can do is ignore it and keep your distance yourself. I have two friends who are still social distancing, they've made us all aware and we all stay away from them.

I thought the covid app had gone dark pink again because of the new way they’re tracking cases.

I don't disagree that people should social distance where possible but it's incorrect to say it's the law.

Too many people can't be bothered to pause on a pavement on a wide area when they can see someone walking on the narrow bit up infront or Wait for some one to come through a narrow doorway because they can't be arsed or think its next to impossible to catch outside

It IS next to impossible to catch outside. If you don't think that, then why don't YOU wait for people to pass in a narrow space instead of expecting them to mind-read? I am still giving people plenty of space where I can (and in my area a lot of people still are) but I'm not hanging around in narrow spaces outside. Passing someone momentarily does not pass on the virus even inside (and you are also assuming that everyone who passes you has the virus which they don't, there are very few cases around at the moment - when I looked at the BBC website it said there had been 22 cases in my county which is very low).

I agree with the OP that people shouldn't be obviously flouting the guidelines but on the other hand they're ridiculous anyway. If we meet in groups of up to 6 that's fine, but if 7 of us the virus will get us? If you run on a track around others for 15 minutes you will be fine, but if you run for 16 minutes you won't? I know they have to set the boundaries somewhere but they're completely arbitrary.

What on earth is this phrase ‘Covid confident’? Never heard it before. And what defines you as being ‘covid confident’?

I’ve seen it loads. Friends on fb out and about and pictured close together

People seem to think it’s life as normal. I understand inadvertently getting a bit too close, but yes huggy, cheek to cheek photos. WTF? And whilst, yes their children might be in a bubble together, their parents aren’t!

@Drivingdownthe101

What on earth is this phrase ‘Covid confident’? Never heard it before. And what defines you as being ‘covid confident’?

I believe it's anyone who doesn't feel the need to jump in the nearest bush or into the main road when approached on the pavement

Ah ok, I guess I’m ‘covid confident’ then