March 23, 2020

expert reaction to social distancing and children exercising and playing

There have been questions from journalists about how children should follow the social distancing guidelines.

Prof Sian Griffiths, Emeritus Professor, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and co-chair of the Hong Kong government’s SARS inquiry, said:

“As many children and young people face the weeks and months ahead without the structure of school it is important that they stay physically active. Guidance from the government emphasises the positive benefits of exercise for all of us, but particularly for children. However, the advice on social distancing still applies. Difficult as this will be, children need to stay 2 meters away from others. Team games such as football do not fall within the guidelines and activities such as cycling or going for a walk may be the best option as well as on line play-dates with school friends.”

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

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