Coronavirus two-metre rule: Has the social distancing rule been relaxed?
BRITS have been distancing themselves from others since lockdown began in March.
The two metre ruling was put in place to prevent the spread of coronavirus, but now Boris Johnson has announced a new "one metre plus" rule in a bid to reopen businesses.
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Has the two-metre social distancing rule been relaxed?
On Tuesday, June 23, the Prime Minister announced new social distancing rules allowing people to stand "one metre plus" away from anyone not in their household.
He said: "Where it is possible to keep two metres apart people should.
"But where it is not, we will advise people to keep a social distance of ‘one metre plus’, meaning they should remain one metre apart, while taking mitigations to reduce the risk of transmission."
Changes to the two metre rule have been brought in as it made "life impossible" for large parts of the economy.
These rules come into force from July 4
The public is advised to wear masks and keep washing hands in environments where the two metre rule cannot be maintained.
This new one metre plus rule applies to England only.
On June 18, the rule in England appeared to be relaxed after official government guidance now says it should only be followed “where possible” in workplaces.
Rishi Sunak dropped a hint about the rule changes on June 20 as he said an upcoming review "will make an enormous difference" to businesses.
Scientists have said they are "totally comfortable with" the two-metre social distancing rule being reduced - but only if people sit side by side and wear face coverings as much as possible.
What are the new rules?
The new rules for England gives employers and school wriggle room on operating the two-metre social distancing.
There had been fears the previous strict guidance was stopping workplaces and shopfloors from reopening.
However two metre distancing should be maintained “where possible”.
Why was the two metre rule introduced in the UK?
To stop the airborne transmission of Covid-19 which is carried in droplets from coughs and sneezes of an infected person. It can even be spread by talking to someone close by.
Two metres has been judged as the safe distance to avoid being infected.
Coronavirus spreads when virus particles get into the body through the eyes, nose or mouth.
Another route for transmission of the virus is via contaminated surfaces, such as door handles that are touched by people with virus on their hands.
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But 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.
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Across the world different countries have employed different rules when it comes to social distancing.
In the US it is 1.8m, Australia 1.5m and France and Italy have just a one metre rule.
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