Two-metre rule will bankrupt businesses and keep pubs shut, bosses say

May 21, 2020

Businesses will go bankrupt and eight out of 10 pubs will have to stay shut unless Government relaxes two-metre social distancing rules, bosses say

Scientific adviser has said two metre social distancing rule is unnecessary
Most pubs could operate with punters one metre apart, says one group
Distance was suggested to reduce the risk of virus droplets spreading
Here’s how to help people impacted by Covid-19

Businesses face bankruptcy and pubs will have to remain shut if the government does not relax its two-metre social distancing rule, industry bosses have said.

Sage, the government’s scientific advisory panel, has stood by the two-metre social distancing rules Britain has been observing since March, when the Covid-19 pademic put the country in to lockdown.

But amid growing criticism of the measure, pubs and businesses have warned The Times about the impact social distancing will have on industry.

Punters will have a hard time keeping two metres apart in around 80% of pubs, which may have to remain shut unless the rules are relaxed, the British Beer and Pub Association has said

Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association, said on 20 per cent of pubs would be able to reopen with two-metre distancing, but a one-metre gap between punters would bring the majority back.

She added: ‘It becomes extraordinarily difficult without some flexibility in the guidelines. There are pubs that haven’t even got a two-metre radius around the bar so that rules them out.’

Professor Robert Dingwall yesterday said measure was based on ‘very fragile’ evidence.

Other nations have cut their rules down to a 1m gap, which advocates say could help businesses get back to work faster and help to kick-start the economy. Spain is the only other country in Europe telling people to keep two metres apart.

Supermarkets including Tesco have been observing two-metre distancing guidelines by asking shoppers to queue outside to enter the the store

Andrew Curran, chief scientific adviser at the Health and Safety Executive said being exposed to someone for ‘a few seconds’ at a one metre distance could equate to around an hour of being two metres away from the same person.

He said: ‘If the exposure at a distance of less than two metres is going to be for a short period of time, you manage the risk in the context of duration and orientation.

Employers have been told to maintain the distance ‘wherever possible’ in official guidance this month.

Edwin Morgan from the Institute of Directors told The Times the measure would be ‘impossible’ for some business, asking the government to help the industry find ‘innovative ways to adapt’.

There are a wide range of recommendations on social distancing that differ from country to country.

The World Health Organisation recommends a one metre distance between two people from separate households.

The reason for this, as stated on its website, is that: ‘When someone coughs, sneezes, or speaks they spray small liquid droplets from their nose or mouth which may contain virus. If you are too close, you can breathe in the droplets, including the COVID-19 virus if the person has the disease.’

But other countries have taken advice from their own health experts and social distancing varies from two metres (in the UK) down to one metre (in France)

The two metre rule can be traced back to research in the 1930s that showed droplets of liquid from coughs or sneezes would land within a one-two metre range, as reported by the BBC.

ONE METRE FOR A FEW SECONDS ‘IS AS RISKY AS AN HOUR AT TWO METRES’

Spending a few seconds one metre from a colleague is equivalent to an hour two metres away, and talking loudly makes it worse, experts warn.

Government scientific advisors are considering telling workers exactly how strong the risk of catching the coronavirus is depending on how close they stand next to someone.

The fresh advice would help employees ‘manage’ their risk of the killer infection where social distancing is difficult.

Companies are wrestling with new safety rules to allow employees to return to work as Prime Minister Boris Johnson sets out steps to restart the economy.

Social distancing is paramount, but there are growing concerns this won’t be possible for some employees in confined spaces, including construction site workers.

Pictured, construction workers in south London on May 12. People in manual jobs may find it harder to social distance at work

Ministers are hoping for a gradual re-opening of schools from June 1, but there are fears children will be unable to properly social distance.

It follows a study last week that showed talking loudly for just one minute can produce a high load of viral particles that stay in the air for eight minutes.

Other simulations show how far infected particles from a cough or sneeze can travel in confined spaces.

Employers in the UK have been told to re-design workspaces to ensure workers are at a two metre distance from others as much as possible.

The new ‘COVID-19 secure’ guidance covers eight workplace settings which are allowed to be open, including construction sites, factories and takeaways.

Where social distancing is difficult, there should be barriers in shared spaces, staggered start times and one-way walking systems, the guidance says.

But where social distancing is seemingly impossible, a sub-group of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) is examining how workers can ‘manage’ the risk, the Sunday Telegraph reports.

He said: ‘If the exposure at a distance of less than two metres is going to be for a short period of time, you manage the risk in the context of duration and orientation.

‘There is some physics in this and the Sage sub-group is looking at that to provide better information.

‘For example, if you were exposed for a few seconds at one metre, that is about the same as being exposed for a longer period of time – an hour, say – at two metres. It is that order of magnitude.

‘There may be elements within a job where there is exposure for a short period, but where the risk is so low it can be managed.’

Two metres is considered a safe distance by health chiefs because the coronavirus predominantly spreads in respiratory droplets in a sneeze or cough.

These large droplets fall to the floor due to gravity within a short distance, around one metre, from the person who expelled them. The ‘safe’ distance is double that in order to optimise protection.

Two metres is not a ‘magical number’ according to John Simpson, a medical director at Public Health England.

He said ‘there is a duration and distance element to exposure that has to be worked through’, as scientists continue to work out how the coronavirus spreads in different conditions.

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