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I don't know how crowded the park was (the replies object) but unless it was like a concert, closing parks is a terrible idea. People need outdoors for immunity and health, sunlight and ventilation make infection much less likely. Better to have sane distancing rules in the park. https://twitter.com/lambeth_council/status/1246497734741364742
If people came in a group.. Well, chase them off the park, they will be that group in a small apartment, less ventilation and less sunlight to kill the virus. Now everyone is worse off. We cannot enforce distancing for weeks without outlets. Outdoors is better than crammed flats.
Without outdoors, people's immunity will decline. Mental health is already a challenge, it will get worse. Plus, if people are in groups outdoors, that group will go back together to a cramped indoor place—so much worse for infection! Much better to enforce sane distancing/masks.
Cramming them indoors isn't better. We need people's cooperation. Authorities should consult with experts who understand how people work and the role of sunshine and ventilation in viral infection spread. Leaving people with no options makes things worse. https://twitter.com/FierceRobert/status/1246784829397426178
This won't be just two weeks. Maybe we should start having that conversation honestly, too. If authorities are telling you in your country that we're indoors for two weeks and that's it, they are not telling you the truth. We may have a year ahead. https://twitter.com/mskathleenquinn/status/1246786836833472512
Yes! Overzealous, unscientific and unsustainable rules will make cooperation less likely. Less sun and outdoors will make people's immune systems weaker. It's much harder for viruses to infect people in sunny, outdoor places compared to cramped indoors. https://twitter.com/Pinboard/status/1246788025515794435
Congregation and playdates: we have to convince people! Driving those indoors makes infections spread more, and we will all be locked down longer. I DO wish they didn't but we can only convince, not hide it from our view. Enforce distance/masks outdoors. https://twitter.com/LuciaParamita/status/1246788368853159936
Of course. Indoors is very conducive to infections spreading. We must provide least risk places for people to get fresh air. Us not seeing them congregate doesn't mean they won't just do it indoors. We need cooperation, not feel-good top-down authority. https://twitter.com/RealDemVoter1/status/1246789342795890688
Yeah, the pictures I saw were perfectly fine distancing, mostly small family groups. If that's what they shut down, they just made sure infections will go up as there will be less immunity without sun and outdoors and groups gathering indoors. https://twitter.com/KatyKiernan/status/1246790150061019136
Find the part I said anything wrong about the infectiousness part. (It's all correct and very very basic). But, it's the sociology of the situation I'm talking about. Authorities are going to drive groups indoors—out-of-sight but more prone to infections. https://twitter.com/DarrenSugg1/status/1246792209233518592
Okay, let's try this: You know what happened when people who don't understand people put everyone in open offices thinking it would encourage interaction? Everyone put headphones on and there was *less* interaction. You gotta understand people and you gotta understand infections.
Okay, apparently lots of people don't know this but... yes: viruses (like many other microorganisms) don't survive as well under the sun compared to less/no sun. We're not talking about UV-C (medical sterilization equipment). For a group, outside is much less risk than indoors.
That's not how people work. WE HAVE TO CONVINCE THEM. Plus, we may be in this for a year. That means we need to consider mental health and immunity. If we close all parks rather than have sane rules, they will gather in cramped petri-dishes aka apartments. https://twitter.com/DeweyTheGooner/status/1246796940458823681
Yes, if this pic is real, this is nuts. Look, there are many studies of disaster response where the people are doing things fairly sanely until authorities come down with top-down, overzealous rules and then things get out of hand, and become much worse. https://twitter.com/MuftiOfMunchies/status/1246799075560894464
I want people to distance. I want them to not gather in groups. I want to find ways to encourage both as much as possible within a sane set of rules and recommendations with which we will have maximal cooperation. Driving groups underground into petri-dishes indoors isn't it.
A 2009 paper on how to get ready for the next pandemic. Yes to distancing, absolutely no to preventing access to outdoors. "..introducing high levels of natural ventilation or, indeed, by encouraging the public to spend as much time outdoors as possible."
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4504358/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4504358/
"Close all the parks" is the new "masks may be more harmful". 
Make it possible to distance outdoors, not trap people indoors. In a few years, academics will be publishing studies on how the locales with sane access to outdoors did so much better. Don't be the comparison case.
Make it possible to distance outdoors, not trap people indoors. In a few years, academics will be publishing studies on how the locales with sane access to outdoors did so much better. Don't be the comparison case.
Okey dokey, I'll write this out long-form. A lot of "do something" impulse is being channeled towards unscientific scolding that will backfire and/or make things worse. And amazed how many people seem incredulous that ventilation/sun/outdoors are important in infection control.
