We went for a walk today on Box Hill.
What? Is that allowed under the rules of self-isolation?
There are two types of self-isolation – quarantine and extreme social distancing, although the media haven’t been very helpful in distinguishing between the two.
As we all know, people should go into quarantine if they have symptoms of coronavirus or have been in contact with someone who has. Whole families are now being asked to quarantine themselves for 14 days if one member needs to. There is full advice on quarantining here.
People like us, who are vulnerable because of age, pregnancy or underlying health issues, are now also being asked to isolate for 12 weeks, but in a marginally more relaxed way. Again, advice on social distancing for vulnerable people is here.
With extreme social distancing the idea is to minimise risk, although recognising that some contact with others may be necessary, but in a controlled way.
Crucially, the guidance specifically says: “You can also go for a walk outdoors if you stay more than 2 metres from others.” So that’s what we did. Although my other half doesn’t usually walk 2 metres away from me!
We did go in the car to get to Box Hill and took some extra precautions, such as wiping the steering wheel and gear-stick with antiseptic wipes, as well as the front door handle after we returned. And sadly we weren’t able to stop off at the cafe for hot chocolate and cake as we normally would.
As suggested yesterday I have set up a Facebook group for any Lib Dems out there who are in self-isolation. Find it at www.facebook.com/groups/LibDemsInSelfIsolation
Please join – I’m feeling extremely isolated at the moment!
* Mary Reid is a contributing editor on Lib Dem Voice. She was a councillor in Kingston upon Thames, where she is still very active with the local party, and is the Hon President of Kingston Lib Dems.
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18 Comments
Good stuff.
Einstein famously said that compound interest was “the most powerful force in the universe”. Compound interest is a form of exponential growth. Infections with coronavirus grow exponentially. Social distancing matters.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/13/science/coronavirus-math-mitigation-distancing.html
“All the leaves are brown and the sky is gray
I’ve been for a walk on a winter’s day
I’d be safe and warm if I was in L.A
California dreamin’ on such a winter’s day.”
Well something like that.
I think you can walk next to someone you live with! (Unless you maintain a distance inside the house…)
A good idea! Will be heading into the Campsies, Old Kilpatrick hills and perhaps beyond as I write up some essays and do some extreme social distancing, outdoors. Any excuse to get the camping gear out (though as you say, keep to all the official guidance). Perhaps Tony Greaves is right on distancing though, unless specifically remaining isolated from vulnerable household members?
Paul Murray – reference to Einstein reminded me of a joke in tv show Mad Men, where one character arouses suspicion for she walks. And thinks. Just walks and thinks! ‘Like Einstein…’. So a cursory google check, and indeed, it appears he did enjoy long, thoughtful walks on the beach! Add that to the tales of Newton making discoveries, and Shakespeare writing Lear and others, both in isolation during plagues, and clearly it can be a good time for focusing on our personal projects. Particularly those we otherwise don’t have time for.
Should remember though, many will find isolation no luxury. For financial reasons, mental health reasons, domestic abuse, or the plethora of everyday worries that have not gone away in these abnormal days, certainly not altogether. Although a few on an individual level – mortgage ‘holiday’ – have been mentioned, not nearly enough. Lib Dems should focus on this. Bail out business, fine, we must. But bail out renters. Bail out self employed, or (ahem, self interest declared) final year students about to hit a dead end jobs market (in some, really bloody bitter cases, for a second time during great recessions…). Individual citizens/ consumers, however they want to term us, must be bailed out this time as well. There were other groups missed out. Need to go on the members forum and discuss these things rather than ramble in your post, Mary!
Look forward to more walking photos. Will do the same!
I would love to take a stroll in the Khasi Hills myself.
@Tony Greaves – no, he didn’t walk 2 metres away from me, except when I was taking the photo!
@Johnny McDermott – yes, all those issues are serious and need to be aired, and indeed people are doing so on other posts. Pleased you like my blog, though, and hopefully it will provide a bit of light relief amid all the gloom.
I have just seen the 1st 15 mins of BBC4 Contagion the BBC4 Pandemic (on I Player) made in 2018.( going to bed for a kip). However it states that their are ‘secret’ warehouses with vast stockpiles of anti viral drugs ,it shows Tamiflu and masks. Are the these places still in existance? Where are they? Surely if nothing else the masks could be distributed to NHS staff, they are on the front line.
n hunter
That was for the SARS outbreak.
Of course for those in self isolation- music
As a printer, mostly for voluntary groups, our work has fallen off a cliff as events are cancelled. Someone trying to cheer me up yesterday suggested that if the over 70s are forced into self isolation (that includes me) then they might spend the next few months writing their memoirs which they could self-publish when things returned to some version of normality. So get writing! Your descendants will be grateful.
Does bring home how lucky as a country we have been for the past seventy years but not sure where we go next, even Boris looked scared out of his wits in his last TV appearance!
Not totally isolating just being careful (64 and no known health problems except dodgy teeth) but it is frightening how many options have suddenly been closed down, many of which may not come back. Four people coughing in the local challenger supermarket, one an employee coughing over the vegetables so did not buy any, You have to be fast on your feet to keep a metre away from them. Close to zero officially infected where I live but no real testing of the general populace so who knows?
Big scale capitalism has lost its shine after this, say this as a creative capitalist!
@Manfarang – what a beautiful piece of music! I love Arvo Part but hadn’t heard this before.
We are lucky to have a car and live where we do, and have decided to use some of our new “spare time” in going for a walk each day.
Part of a wood in a Local park we haven’t been to before on Monday. Long walk on beach at salburn yesterday. Round a reservoir today I hope. Important for body and soul I feel.
The snag is that there is now an outpouring of email, and lots of phone type conferencing coming up!
“You need to go into self-isolation for between 2 to 12 weeks”.
introverts: “Yippppeee!”
Extroverts: “Arrrrghhhh!”
It must be difficult for town and city dwellers, particularly those with no car. Luckily, I live in a village in beautiful Montgomeryshire. I can step out of my front door, go for a 3 mile walk and have to keep 2 metres from almost no one. Yesterday I did not meet another person on my walk. Plenty of lovely scenery, birds singing and ponds full of frog spawn. Isolation also means I don’t get dragged off shopping! It is sobering to realise that this is all due to a very serious issue and that some people of my age are losing their lives. We have one pub in the village and its future is far from secure.
In England I love going on walks across the Downs and in woodlands but I rarely meet people. It seems most use cars and never walk far.
A lot of this social distancing effort is completely undermined by having almost 9 million children plus staff mixing in schools
Mary:
Provided there’s a wind blowing in the open air, we should be all right. We fixed to meet our grandchildren for a walk at the weekend; they ran around a lot, and didn’t hug us, so a safe distance was kept. And then there’s gardening. We’re lucky enough to have both a garden and an allotment. And our daughter is organising me to give the grandchildren history lessons on Skype next week… I hope that works!
I took the dog for a walk in the park this evening. A passing jogger, breathing very hard coughed and spluttered over both of us. The dog should be alright, I think only humans can get the virus.