There is NO evidence in science for two metre rule, Oxford experts say
THE two metre rule should be scrapped soon as there's “no evidence” it stops the spread of coronavirus, two Oxford Uni scientists have said.
The government has come under increased pressure to drop the measure so that people can once again be close to their loved ones.
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In countries such as Italy and France the one metre rule applies.
It also applies in Denmark which has a remarkably low death toll with under 600 people having died from the virus.
There has also been much political debate around the two metre rule and Boris Johnson has now commissioned a review into it.
The Prime Minister said: "As we get the numbers down, so it becomes one in 1,000, one in 1,600, maybe even fewer, your chances of being two metres, or one metre, or even a foot away from somebody who has the virus is obviously going down statistically, so you start to build some more margin for manoeuvre."
Two metres or one?
Now experts from the University of Oxford have said that there is little evidence to support the restriction.
This is while experts at the University of Dundee also said there was no evidence to suggest two metres is safer than one.
Across the world different countries have employed different rules when it comes to social distancing.
In the UK the recommendation has been two metres since the start of the pandemic.
In the US it is 1.8m, Australia 1.5m and France and Italy have just a one metre rule.
Professor Carl Heneghan and Tom Jefferson analysed 172 studies in The Lancet.
They found that only one study highlighted the two metre rule and it found that proximity had no impact.
While they highlighted that social distancing has become the norm they also raised the point that it is “seriously impacting schools, pubs, restaurants and our daily lives”.
Writing for they said: “Much of the evidence in this current outbreak informing policy is poor quality.
“Encouragement and handwashing are what we need, not formalised rules.”
This is while the University of Dundee stated that 78 per cent of the risk of infection happens below one metre.
They said that there is an 11 per cent chance of increased distance making a difference.
One senior statistician even said that a “one metre rule might be better than just avoiding contact”.
After reviewing 25 papers put together for the World Health Organisation (WHO) he said: “These data give no indication that two metres is better than one metre.”
The government has said it will look at relaxing the measures in order to make sure businesses remain profitable when another wave reopen on July 1.
The Isle of Man has already changed its rules and has relaxed social distancing for businesses so that employees can return to their jobs without restrictions.
Yesterday non-essential shops opened across the UK with many people queuing outside for long periods of time due restrictions.
Where does social distancing come from?
It’s a rule that has been employed in supermarkets and the government has also urged people to do this when they are out in public.
The rule actually dates back to scientist William Wells.
In the 1930s he had been looking into the spread of tuberculosis.
He found that the virus could travel in droplets in various distances.
Governments across the world have adopted different distances when it comes to enforcing social distancing but the WHO suggests you only need to be one metre apart.
There is no evidence to suggest that you can catch the virus when passing someone in the street.
Does it work?
While Prof Heneghan and Prof Jefferson say there is no evidence that it works, others scientists say it has been effective in controlling the pandemic.
But did highlight that this could be a combination of both people staying at home and remaining at a safe distance.
Trevor Bedford of UW and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center previously said that there was “strong evidence that social distancing results in decreased Covid-19 transmission rates”.
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If the contact rate of people falls then so does the transmission of the illness.
In May Sir Patrick Vallance told the health select committee that the risk of contracting the illness at one metre was up to 30 times higher than at two.
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Previously research has however suggested that people who talk loudly could also spread the infection.
The new research from the two Oxford experts however could mean that the rules may be relaxed and that we can once again embrace our loved ones.
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