Doctor warns Brits not to attend pubs with friends following lockdown

4 May 2020, 18:43

It isn't good news for those who can't wait for the first get-together once lockdown is lifted.

One of Britain's top medics has stated that us Brits will need to heavily consider how they visit public spaces once lockdown is eased.

Dr Jenny Harries has revealed that the way people get to their destinations following lockdown will be important, and that not going to the pub is the best way to reduce the risk of spreading coronavirus.

She and Local Government Secretary Robert Jenrick were asked at the daily Downing Street briefing whether mass gatherings would likely be allowed to resume before pubs are permitted to reopen.

Mr Jenrick answered by stating the virus's rate of transmission is 'significantly less' outdoors and that this will be a factor to be considered in any easing of the lockdown.

However, despite this, Dr Harries has said that mixing with friends and other people from outside your isolation household in an area like a pub is a very bad idea.

Explaining her reasons, she said: "If you go as a family unit and sit in one place and you've got the same exposure there that you would in your house at home, that's probably quite a safe environment.

"If you go with a whole load of friends that you haven't seen from before the coronavirus lockdown, sit in a pub in a very small environment, lean well over each other on the table and stay there for some hours face-to-face, that's really not a good thing to do."

Both Mr Jenrick and Dr Harries have stated that the way people travel and use public transport will have to seriously change, as being together is such tight spaces will be a have a large impact on how the virus is spread.

Travelling in cars with anyone outside your household isn't recommended post-lockdown, and Dr Harries added: "Don't go to the pub on the way [to a destination via car] is probably the one to reduce your risk, although I recognise that everybody is wanting to do that."