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| Coronavirus: Should outdoor exercise be banned and parks closed? | Coronavirus: Should outdoor exercise be banned and parks closed? |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| Some parks around the UK have been closed to stop people congregating, but would shutting more of them and banning outdoor exercise help to stop the spread of coronavirus? | Some parks around the UK have been closed to stop people congregating, but would shutting more of them and banning outdoor exercise help to stop the spread of coronavirus? |
| Which parks have been closed? | Which parks have been closed? |
| Closing parks is a decision for local authorities. In response to incidents of people congregating in parks despite social distancing measures, several have taken that step. | |
| London's Lambeth Council closed Brockwell Park on Sunday, saying more than 3,000 people sunbathed or met up in large groups there on Saturday. However, it reopened on Monday. | London's Lambeth Council closed Brockwell Park on Sunday, saying more than 3,000 people sunbathed or met up in large groups there on Saturday. However, it reopened on Monday. |
| Towards the end of March, there was a spate of closures across the country. | Towards the end of March, there was a spate of closures across the country. |
| In London, all parks and playgrounds in the borough of Hammersmith and Fulham were shut, and then the local council in Tower Hamlets closed Victoria Park. | In London, all parks and playgrounds in the borough of Hammersmith and Fulham were shut, and then the local council in Tower Hamlets closed Victoria Park. |
| The National Trust closed all of its parks, gardens and car parks across the UK, while Chatsworth House in Derbyshire also shut down. | The National Trust closed all of its parks, gardens and car parks across the UK, while Chatsworth House in Derbyshire also shut down. |
| Snowdonia National Park in north Wales closed off access to its mountains, while cars have been banned from all parks in Glasgow and Gortin Glen Forest Park in Fermanagh was shut. | Snowdonia National Park in north Wales closed off access to its mountains, while cars have been banned from all parks in Glasgow and Gortin Glen Forest Park in Fermanagh was shut. |
| What has the government said? | What has the government said? |
| People around the UK are currently being advised to only leave their homes for one of four main reasons: | People around the UK are currently being advised to only leave their homes for one of four main reasons: |
| The government has said it is not going to stop outdoor exercise, but has renewed warnings against sunbathing during the current restrictions. | The government has said it is not going to stop outdoor exercise, but has renewed warnings against sunbathing during the current restrictions. |
| A spokesman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: "It goes against our current guidance." | A spokesman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: "It goes against our current guidance." |
| He added that exercise was "vital for protecting health and wellbeing. That is why it was included in the list of exceptional reasons people can leave their homes". | He added that exercise was "vital for protecting health and wellbeing. That is why it was included in the list of exceptional reasons people can leave their homes". |
| How would closing parks help? | How would closing parks help? |
| The government is concerned people might pass the virus between themselves in parks, defeating the purpose of the current restrictions on movement. | The government is concerned people might pass the virus between themselves in parks, defeating the purpose of the current restrictions on movement. |
| Deputy chief medical officer Dr Jenny Harries said over the weekend: "If you are sitting on a park bench, people tend to accumulate. It is very difficult to prevent that." | Deputy chief medical officer Dr Jenny Harries said over the weekend: "If you are sitting on a park bench, people tend to accumulate. It is very difficult to prevent that." |
| Prof John Edmunds, from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, explained that there were three ways that the virus may be transmitted: | Prof John Edmunds, from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, explained that there were three ways that the virus may be transmitted: |
| "The first two of these routes would be reduced to virtually zero out of doors," he said. "You are much less likely to touch an infected surface, and suspended particles will be massively diluted by the fresh air." | "The first two of these routes would be reduced to virtually zero out of doors," he said. "You are much less likely to touch an infected surface, and suspended particles will be massively diluted by the fresh air." |
| That means that the remaining danger is droplet infection. To try to avoid that people should stay at least the recommended 2m (6ft) distance from others. However, a US study has suggested that coughs can reach 6m and sneezes 8m. | That means that the remaining danger is droplet infection. To try to avoid that people should stay at least the recommended 2m (6ft) distance from others. However, a US study has suggested that coughs can reach 6m and sneezes 8m. |
| The government's current concern is that crowded parks and people sitting on benches could mean that people are not staying far enough apart, and so there is a danger of infection. | The government's current concern is that crowded parks and people sitting on benches could mean that people are not staying far enough apart, and so there is a danger of infection. |
| What problems would stopping outdoor exercise cause? | What problems would stopping outdoor exercise cause? |
| If outdoor exercise was stopped, it would be a particular problem for people without access to a garden. | If outdoor exercise was stopped, it would be a particular problem for people without access to a garden. |
| Labour's new deputy leader Angela Rayner said it was "all right for people who have got big houses and huge back gardens" to tell people sunbathing while observing social distancing to stop doing so. | Labour's new deputy leader Angela Rayner said it was "all right for people who have got big houses and huge back gardens" to tell people sunbathing while observing social distancing to stop doing so. |
| And Linda Bauld, professor of public health at University of Edinburgh, said: "The health implications of the lockdown that we anticipate - increased alcohol consumption, domestic violence, anxiety and depression, poor diet and decreased physical activity - will get worse if we confine more of us to our homes, without the hugely important respite that outdoor exercise provides." | And Linda Bauld, professor of public health at University of Edinburgh, said: "The health implications of the lockdown that we anticipate - increased alcohol consumption, domestic violence, anxiety and depression, poor diet and decreased physical activity - will get worse if we confine more of us to our homes, without the hugely important respite that outdoor exercise provides." |
| "If the rationale is virus transmission outdoors, then far stronger evidence is needed to justify it." | "If the rationale is virus transmission outdoors, then far stronger evidence is needed to justify it." |
| Carl Heneghan, professor of evidence-based medicine at University of Oxford, pointed to limited evidence that people who exercise suffer the symptoms of diseases such as Covid for fewer days. | |
| He also stressed that people with other health conditions do much worse with the virus, and if people stop exercising they are more likely to have other conditions. | |
| "If the government is going to stop outdoor exercise then it is stopping responding to evidence," he said. |