Tier 4 exercise limits

[rmurphy195]

Just had a look at:

gov.uk/guidance/tier-4-stay-at-home

It says you can exercise outside but must stay local. Wondering what would constitute as 'local' to make my exercise legitimate?

I'm not trying to push the bondaries to breaking point but wonder if being more than X miles from home will be considered outside the rules. There are plenty of varied road and tracks within 3 miles of me (ymmv) so perhaps that is one definition? On the other hand perhaps 'out for an hour' (wherever that takes you) could be another definition for 'local'?

On the guidance notes it defines "local" as "meaning avoiding travelling outside of your village, town or the part of a city where you live".

[mjr]

In the first lockdown the law itself didn't specify 'local' thus that was guidance only.

While I'm sure the gov legal team are frantically trying to write some faintly sensible statute to cover this governments latest indecisive and last minute law making which is due to come into affect tomorrow morning, they are yet to be published even in the annoying hard to read amendment form, it'll be a day or two before they get properly spliced into the legislation website so at the moment no one knows for sure.

Pragmatically, the key thing is not to come into contact with others, so your normal exercise/cycling routes, if it does that, should be fine.

Same situation for Tier 4: local is only in the advice, not the law.

Pragmatically, I think your town is fine, your borough is OK, your county in the same tier if you must, beyond that only for work/care/medical/similar.

[pwa]

I just hope all the second homers and holiday rental lot that left my Tier 4 county to go and spend Christmas and NY on the Isle of Wight, now also Tier 4 of course, are now physically prevented from boarding the ferries when they try to come ‘home’. Bunch of selfish tossers.

We live near the S Wales coast. We don't currently drive anywhere for exercise or recreation. But starting and finishing at our doorstep we can cycle or walk as far as we like within Wales. There are beaches and dunes a few miles from here that we have avoided driving to, but apparently the police have intercepted folk from as far away as Milton Keynes and London arriving there. It is a similar story in the Brecon Beacons. Very irritating, but I suspect not that significant for Covid transmission. That is mostly happening in enclosed spaces.

[DaveReading]

Same situation for Tier 4: local is only in the advice, not the law.

Yes, it's a "should", not a "must".

[Syd]

Just because you can doesn’t mean you should.

This doctor has strong views on the matter.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-55479018

[DaveReading]

This doctor has strong views on the matter.

He doesn't express any views at all on exercise limits, which is what we're talking about here.

[Syd]

This doctor has strong views on the matter.

He doesn't express any views at all on exercise limits, which is what we're talking about here.

No but the main topic is ignoring the ‘shoulds’, bend the rules, finding loopholes, not giving a flying fudge about what the ultimate consequences of any such actions may have.

The NHS is creaking and very close to breaking point but, hey, what does that matter?

[Psamathe]

...
No but the main topic is ignoring the ‘shoulds’, bend the rules, finding loopholes, not giving a flying fudge about what the ultimate consequences of any such actions may have.....

My limited personal (and thus anecdotal) local experience is that people are not seeking out loopholes or stretching things. They are just completely ignoring them.

Ian

[DaveReading]

My limited personal (and thus anecdotal) local experience is that people are not seeking out loopholes or stretching things. They are just completely ignoring them.

Indeed they are.

But the behaviour of idiots is no reason to tar those who choose to include cycling in their fitness/exercise regime with the same brush, as seems to be happening here.

[Syd]

My limited personal (and thus anecdotal) local experience is that people are not seeking out loopholes or stretching things. They are just completely ignoring them.

Indeed they are.

But the behaviour of idiots is no reason to tar those who choose to include cycling in their fitness/exercise regime with the same brush, as seems to be happening here.

Have you looked at those you follow on Strava recently? Let’s just say my list has been culled.

[DaveReading]

Have you looked at those you follow on Strava recently? Let’s just say my list has been culled.

I don't use Strava, so the significance of that is lost on me, I'm afraid.

[Syd]

My running club, which I can’t currently attend as its in a different council area (amongst other rules it violates), are still setting up group runs in direct violation of the rules on numbers meeting outside.

They talked about setting up a temporary satellite base in my council area and members, who would have benefitted, quite rightly shouted in down.

Just because individuals want to exercise and keep fit it’s no guarantee they will behave any different, in terms of being sensible, to the rest of the population.

[DaveReading]

Just because individuals want to exercise and keep fit it’s no guarantee they will behave any different, in terms of being sensible, to the rest of the population.

No, of course it's not a guarantee.

But you could equally argue that the more time they spend on their bikes or pounding the trails, the less time they will have available for contravening the rules/guidelines on social distancing, mask-wearing, partying, etc, that the Professor is rightly concerned about.

Getting back onto the thread topic, there is very little you can do while cycling that will increase the Covid risk to yourself or others. If one's preference is to stay at home, or limit one's time/distance/frequency, then that's fine. If it isn't, then that's fine too.

[grufty]

Met a bloke today, bragging about all the things he'd done this week in the Lake District, told me he's from Brum. When I asked him if that wasn't a bit naughty, he said "I just tell people I'm self isolating in my camper van".

People are dying and NHS staff are under incredible pressure.

[pwa]

Met a bloke today, bragging about all the things he'd done this week in the Lake District, told me he's from Brum. When I asked him if that wasn't a bit naughty, he said "I just tell people I'm self isolating in my camper van".

People are dying and NHS staff are under incredible pressure.

I share your irritation. The bloke is something I can't use the right word for here. But the virus is mostly not being spread by folk going to the countryside in their campers, or those hiking up mountains. It is being spread in homes, by families having a few extra family members around because they haven't seen them for a while, above and beyond what is allowed. I know of one family where the "bubble" is effectively endless because the Mum and Dad have all their adult children (and their partners) visit, their partners presumably also visiting their own parents, and one grandchild visiting with his girlfriend, whose own family probably have other contacts. They think it is okay because it is just family but there are so many holes in that bubble that it means very little. It is in enclosed spaces that the virus spreads most easily, not in a car park or half way up a fellside.