# Can't go outdoors? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [April 2, 2020, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-go-outdoors/850855 "2020-04-02T03:15:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2020, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-go-outdoors/850855/21 "2020-04-02T15:54:58Z")
> [@Filbert](#): > > I’m imagining really, really long scissors… > > The rules are pretty vague in the UK as well, with contradictions on stuff like whether it’s OK to drive to somewhere for a walk, or to walk the dogs; you’re supposed to stay in your local area, which is fair enough, except how far is that? If you live in a built-up area, it could make more sense to drive 10 minutes away to a quiet spot to walk, as the nearby streets can be really busy, but no-one seems to know if it’s allowed. I thought this had been cleared up pretty well - no driving to a location for exercise. Only what you can do from your home. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2020, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-go-outdoors/850855/22 "2020-04-02T15:56:27Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > If I let my lawn grow for a month during the period when it’s growing the fastest, it would get to the point where it would be really difficult to mow (clogging up the mower). > > Yes, having short grass isn’t _essential_. But having some guy out in your yard mowing it isn’t particularly risky, either. Well. You could do it yourself. (Not being snarky. I’m cleaning my own house and contemplating how to groom my dog at the moment. And last week we had 2 tonnes of gravel delivered which myself and wife had to haul through the house and into the back garden ourselves, as the labourers had been cancelled). ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2020, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-go-outdoors/850855/23 "2020-04-02T15:58:59Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > I thought this had been cleared up pretty well - no driving to a location for exercise. Only what you can do from your home. What’s wrong with driving to a less crowded location where you have a better chance of staying away from other people? ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2020, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-go-outdoors/850855/24 "2020-04-02T16:00:08Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > Well. You could do it yourself. I can, and do. I was thinking of someone too ill, infirm, or elderly to do it themselves. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2020, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-go-outdoors/850855/25 "2020-04-02T16:03:06Z")
Re: landscaping, etc…the shelter in place order for Santa Clara County says this about being essential– _Arborists, landscapers, gardeners, and similar service professionals, but only to the limited extent necessary to maintain the habitability, sanitation, operation of businesses or residences, or the safety of residents, employees, or the public (such as fire safety or tree trimming to prevent a dangerous condition), and **not for cosmetic or other purposes (such as upkeep**)_. So, to my mind anyway, that might prohibit the weekly landscaping at my apartment complex. It also seems to prohibit the painting of the apartment buildings that started before the order. Both of these activities continue at the complex. I kind of want to talk to the apartment manager and ask about her interpretation of the order, but we have somewhat of an adversarial relationship already and I don’t want to get into it with her. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2020, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-go-outdoors/850855/26 "2020-04-02T16:06:41Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > What’s wrong with driving to a less crowded location where you have a better chance of staying away from other people? Theory goes that you won’t get into a car crash, or break down, and hence won’t take valuable time away from the emergency services. Also driving involves fuel, which means at some point visiting a garage, which means another chance of contact infection (I heard all of this from a Police chief on the BBC last night). I don’t know what it’s like in other countries, but here in the UK there’s a huge focus on ‘lowering the curve’, ie spreading the infection out over a longer time period to make sure the NHS isn’t overwhelmed. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2020, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-go-outdoors/850855/27 "2020-04-02T16:17:36Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > But the landscapers get close to one another. It’s making another hole in social distancing by continuing the service. We have one gardener who works alone. We drop off a check for him so it would take more human contact to tell him to stop coming than it would to have him keep coming, and he needs the money anyhow. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2020, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-go-outdoors/850855/28 "2020-04-02T16:22:54Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > What’s wrong with driving to a less crowded location where you have a better chance of staying away from other people? - If you allow it, lots of people end up driving to the same popular outdoor spots (bike paths, hiking trails, parks, etc), and those places become crowded. - It would be difficult to enforce a “shelter in place” order if everyone is driving around looking for a place to exercise. - Outdoor activities that you need to drive to tend to be more dangerous than ones you can do from home. Especially when people are bored and start doing things they aren’t accustomed to (“I haven’t used the kayak in 10 years but I’ve got nothing else to do”). The important thing right now is to minimize the number of people who need medical help. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2020, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-go-outdoors/850855/29 "2020-04-02T18:26:04Z")
Finally a benefit to living in Bum-Fuck Backwater. I can wander for miles outside everyday with the doggies and not worry about anything but coyote attacks. And wouldn’t you know it, I broke the Jeep a few days ago! :smack: ---
**Author:** ![PoppaSan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/poppasan/32/189_2.png) [@PoppaSan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoppaSan)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2020, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-go-outdoors/850855/30 "2020-04-02T18:32:44Z")
> [@scr4](#): > > - If you allow it, lots of people end up driving to the same popular outdoor spots (bike paths, hiking trails, parks, etc), and those places become crowded. > > - It would be difficult to enforce a “shelter in place” order if everyone is driving around looking for a place to exercise. > > - Outdoor activities that you need to drive to tend to be more dangerous than ones you can do from home. Especially when people are bored and start doing things they aren’t accustomed to (“I haven’t used the kayak in 10 years but I’ve got nothing else to do”). The important thing right now is to minimize the number of people who need medical help. So maybe closing the national parks is a good idea? [NPS Public Health Update (U.S. National Park Service)](https://www.nps.gov/aboutus/news/public-health-update.htm) > [@](#): > > The NPS taking extraordinary steps to implement the latest guidance from state and local public health authorities, which support the CDC’s efforts to promote social distancing and slow the spread of COVID-19. The NPS is modifying operations, until further notice, for facilities and programs that cannot adhere to this guidance. Where it is possible to adhere to this guidance, outdoor spaces will remain open to the public and entrance-fee free. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2020, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-go-outdoors/850855/31 "2020-04-02T18:45:25Z")
> [@scr4](#): > > - If you allow it, lots of people end up driving to the same popular outdoor spots (bike paths, hiking trails, parks, etc), and those places become crowded. This is why the Morton Arboretum (a 1700-acre open space in Chicago’s western suburbs) closed as of yesterday, for the rest of April. They’d remained open (though they had closed all of their indoor facilities) through March, to give people an opportunity for outdoor recreation, but after there were repeated issues with visitors ignoring guidance on social distancing, they decided that they had no choice but to shut down. ---
**Author:** ![RioRico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f04885/32.png) [@RioRico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RioRico)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2020, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-go-outdoors/850855/32 "2020-04-02T19:38:35Z")
I’ve seen two individuals at separate times walking dogs on the nearest paved road 1/4 mile away. I can view our rugged muddy mountain track from my usual perch - very few motor vehicles. No pedestrians have shown here lately, and that’s prudent, because bears have left hibernation. Thrill-seekers are invited to take their chances. I walk laps around our place, never more than a a dozen yards from an unlocked door. I’d rather avoid running far for exercise. :eek: If Hell is other people then we’re on the upper fringe of Purgatory far from any civic center. Could be worse. ---
**Author:** ![Carryon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc29f/32.png) [@Carryon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carryon)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2020, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-go-outdoors/850855/33 "2020-04-03T05:16:11Z")
You’ll notice how smug all the dogs are, as if to say, “Ha ha, I can go out and you can’t” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![filmstar-en](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/50afbb/32.png) [@filmstar-en](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmstar-en)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2020, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-go-outdoors/850855/34 "2020-04-03T23:11:45Z")
Well here in London you are allowed to leave your home and take exercise once a day and I did this today. It was fine weather so I decided on a nice walk to the Thames river at Greenwich. This did not go well. There were people on the streets, few shops open except supermarkets and pharmacies, all of which have created elaborate channeling systems to ensure customer numbers are controlled, with lines marked on the floor to show how to stay six feet away from each other. Hand sanitiser provided on entry by staff in rubber gloves and protective masks. But the shelves seemed full. It seems to be working. The population density in inner London is quite high and many people live in apartments and do not have access to garden or any private outdoor space. However the city is blessed by lots of public parks and this is where people go to get exercise. Joggers, walkers and families with young children were much in evidence. People keep their distance as advised, some wearing masks. My first brush with authority came when I rested while on a bench by the river front and made a call to wish a friend happy birthday. I was soon approached by a police patrol, one of whom announced that I had been spotted by their anti-terrorist surveillance cameras as ‘loitering’ on the bench. I told them I was resting during my daily exercise. But that did not seem to cut much ice. I was told to move on or I will get a fine. So I walked towards Greenwich park, which is huge. I sat on another bench by the entrance and in one minute two more police challenged me and said I must move on. I asked whether I could sit on the grass and they said no. Apparently taking exercise does not seem to involve stopping for any time. I walked around the park and there were lots of people enjoying the spring weather, keeping a distance from each other. Some areas, like the flower gardens, were locked and road closed and no cycling allowed. There seemed to a lot of two person police patrols having words with anyone who staying on the same spot for too long. Including the families with young kids. This evening there were more developments during the daily Coronvirus briefing on the TV news with an announcement by the Health Secretary, who has just recovered from coronavirus. We are asked no to go out in order to save the NHS and to honour the memory of two nurses who have recently died after contracting the virus. “We cannot relax our discipline now. If we do, people will die. I end with the advice we all know. This advice is not a request - it is an instruction. Stay at home, protect lives and then you will be doing your part.” The warning follows messages from local councils, tourism bosses and police urging people to stay away from beauty spots, as the Easter holidays begin and warm weather is expected. I guess this means the police are going to start handing out tickets. This represents a change of tone in the messages to the British public from the authorities from persuasion, encouraging and imploring people to follow the rules, towards the police giving out tickets. There has been a lot of disquiet around the country that the rules have been handed down tend to be vague and interpreted differently by different police forces. Some forces were happy to slap tickets on people driving to beauty spots to park and walk their dog and pursue them with police drones. But was seen as an absurd over reaction and has been reined in. Most UK police forces tend to persuade and advise the public. They police by consent for minor public behaviour issues. They rely a lot of the public doing the right thing, which they are quite happy to do. Sometimes, however, the police make a mistake and people get very annoyed. It is fine balance that can be easily upset. This weekend promises to be fine weather and cabin fever may take its toll. There is a lot of concern for people who may be in difficult relationships cooped up in small apartments with frustration boiling over. All the schools closed, kids bored, parents trying to work from home…I’m sure the police are not looking forward being called out to domestic disputes. The UK still has a long way to go to match some of the very authoritarian measures taken on other countries. I’m not sure what will happen tomorrow. But I am quite sure the police certainly do not have the numbers to patrol all the parks in London, many of which are not fenced off from the surrounding neighbourhood. Will they be going around with megaphones bellowing at people walking their dogs and families with little kids to go home? ---
**Author:** ![filmstar-en](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/50afbb/32.png) [@filmstar-en](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmstar-en)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-go-outdoors/850855/35 "2020-04-04T23:39:34Z")
Well today was very fine weather, blue skies and sunshine. Londoners were outside in the parks and green spaces, walking, jogging, exercising and families with young kids playing on the grass. Everyone keeping a respectful virus defying six feet away from each other. This tranquil scene was interrupted by London police officers wandering around warning everyone that they were infringing the law if they did not keep moving. If you sat on the grass, you were endangering a public space. The ironic thing was the police were in squad cars or police vans and they showed no sign of observing the same virus protection rules. Which are in any case vague and what is a guideline, recommendation and what is a law which if you break you may be subject to a £60 fine. Trying to take issue with officers was pointless, they seemed offended that anyone could object to them enforcing the ‘law’ as if it were clear as day, which it certainly was not. When I questioned how me sitting on the grass in a public park a distance from anyone else was somehow connected with the propagation of the virus was met with a look that clearly expected me to simply comply without question. They suggested I was putting lives at risk and harming the NHS. This very emotional language is straight from the politicians. They are trying to shame everyone into playing their part in dealing with this. I do wonder how much culpability the politicians accept for not sourcing enough test kits or providing health and care workers with the protection they need. So the police went around interrupting everyones afternoon making everyone get to their feet and move around if they were taking exercise and then piled back into their police van as if they themselves were immune to any virus. They made a great show of this in the huge Greenwich Park. In my local neighbourhood park they spend a hour doing the same and then all jumped into their police van and presumably went to the next neighbourhood park to do the same. Londoners were quite bemused by these patronising little talks and when the police went away they went back to what they were doing. I did not see any large groups, no parties, no picnics. Everyone kept their distance. Everyone knows that this is what you do. I guess the police have to be seen to be doing something that our politicians say they have decided is a necessary part of public distancing. In another part of London the local council have decided to close the big Brockwell Park after too many people were seen sitting around on the grass in the sun. Parents getting a least some relief at having a place where their young kids can run around freely after being cooped up in small apartments. Tomorrow promises to be another fine spring day. Maybe more big parks will close and then make the smaller neighbourhood parks much more crowded? Maybe they will put a police line barring access to park benches? This being London, fine weather seldom lasts long and Monday will be rainy so no-one will be sitting on the grass and the police can get back to more productive tasks. France, Italy and Spain have serious curfew laws and the police really don’t have much of relationship with their public to lose. In the UK it is all about persuasion. They really have no choice, the community oriented police force is far smaller than the national police forces common in Europe. There is no way there are enough police manpower in the UK to chase everyone and we don’t have a national ID system. > **[Londoners bask in park sunshine despite PM begging people to stay home](https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/lockdown-parks-beaches-overcrowded-sunshine-pm-stay-home-a4407111.html)** > > Follow our live Covid-19 updates HERE The lesson from Spain and Italy is that it is the social care homes for the elderly that are the places where the virus spreads and kills the vulnerable residents. Staff, through no fault of their own, are untested for the virus and have little protection. I cannot help thinking that imploring the public to behave and follow these rules is useful if it is intended to distract attention from more fundamental failings that the authorities are unable to deal with effectively. The police, meanwhile, have to be seen to be ‘doing something’ to keep the politicians happy. I bet they hate every minute of it. ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-go-outdoors/850855/36 "2020-04-04T23:46:00Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > But the landscapers get close to one another. It’s making another hole in social distancing by continuing the service. The only time we have hired landscapers was to build a patio last summer (landscaping is a large part of what they do normally). It’s a family-owned business, the core of which is a multigenerational family that lives in the same house anyway. I think landscaping could be done in a safe way, even if it often isn’t. ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2020, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-go-outdoors/850855/37 "2020-04-05T01:47:14Z")
The weather has gotten to the right temperature and humidity that the I go walk around the apartment building after sunset, enjoy the air and the constellations. Wasn’t there some conjunction recently? ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2020, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-go-outdoors/850855/38 "2020-04-05T02:12:37Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > So, to my mind anyway, that might prohibit the weekly landscaping at my apartment complex. > [@Eva\_Luna](#): > > I think landscaping could be done in a safe way, even if it often isn’t. Yeah, landscaping upkeep continues at my condo complex but in this case I’m not particularly bothered by it. It’s a heavily planted ~45 acre, largely hillside site backing up against a small, very hilly regional park. And for the most part it is one guy working his ass off every day in different sections. Many of those sections are steep and border on the inaccessible for residents, which is partially why the complex is packed full of deer and wild turkeys. I’m pretty comfortable he can keep a good working distance( like 10-100 yards )from anyone. And considering how hard he works I’d really like for him to be able to keep his job. So for now I’m quietly looking the other way. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2020, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-go-outdoors/850855/39 "2020-04-05T03:33:46Z")
> [@Xema](#): > > I’m in a US state where the rule is now “limit public movements and interactions outside the home to essential services and activities”. > > Apparently, many people are interpreting this as “must stay indoors”. I’m wondering if this is right, or whether (say) walking around the yard you own and tending the garden is acceptable. Surely such activities do not entail risk of catching or spreading a virus - right? There is some limited evidence that sunshine is good for you, actually helping you avoid and fight infection and disease. If the evidence was strong, everybody would be repeating it. But FWIW, the evidence for sunshine is rather stronger than any evidence against it. Fortunately, the USA and Europe are moving into sunshine season. Unfortunately, as is normal, this epidemic started in winter. ---
**Author:** ![cmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@cmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmore)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2020, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-go-outdoors/850855/40 "2020-04-05T04:53:00Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > We have one gardener who works alone. We drop off a check for him so it would take more human contact to tell him to stop coming than it would to have him keep coming, and he needs the money anyhow. everyone’s gardener I know of has a cell phone. sounds like yours really does need the money. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-go-outdoors/850855.md?page=1)