March 23, 2020

expert comment on enforcing social distancing measures

There has been widespread discussion in the media on enforcing social distancing measures, similar to the restrictions enforced in other European countries.

Prof Keith Neal, Emeritus Professor in the Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases, University of Nottingham, said:

“Many countries have gone into lockdowns but one question is how they might be enforced. Key workers will need to get out, people need to go shopping regularly especially if they have not hoarded stuff, people need to attend medical appointments, etc. In France you can walk your dog and also take exercise as long as you do it alone. The German solution has much to recommend it. No group larger than 2 can meet and they must be two metres apart.  This has advantages in that it enforces the distance concept, people can get their shopping done and the police or other bodies can readily enforce it.  Stopping people to check they fit the right criteria to be out is time consuming and could increase the risk to the police.”

All our previous output on this subject can be seen at this weblink: www.sciencemediacentre.org/tag/covid-19

Declared Interests

None declared.