How social distancing affects Covid-19 riskhealthUpdated: Jun 24, 2020 12:40 ISTBritain on Tuesday announced an easing of social distancing rules from July 4, reducing the recommended gap from 2 metres to “1 metre plus” in England as it further loosened lockdown measures meant to curb the Covid-19 pandemic. Beyond that simple reality, “it is just a matter of reducing risk with increased physical distance”, said Jonathan Reid, a professor of Physical Chemistry at Britain’s Bristol University. These droplets may contain the virus, and “if you are too close, you can breathe in the droplets”, the WHO says. China, Denmark, France, Hong Kong and Singapore recommend social distancing of 1 metre, and many people also choose to, or are required to, wear face masks in public spaces. Switzerland this week also reduced the required distance to 1.5m from 2m.

Source: Hindustan Times June 24, 2020 07:09 UTC