There are people who think indoor dining at restaurants is safe. They cite the '2 metre' distancing rule as proof. This is a mistake. Let's talk about why. 1/n

The 2m rule for distancing is a guideline for circumstances where proximity to others is unavoidable. Think grocery shopping, or hospital waiting rooms. Even under those circumstances, the 2m rule applies when you should also be wearing a mask. 2/n

Similarly, when you're outdoors and NOT wearing a mask, every public health official has stated that you should still be following distancing rules! This alone should give you pause about thinking that indoor dining, unmasked, is safe just because you're 'distanced'. 3/n

Think about almost every super-spreader event you've read about. 1 person, often asymptomatic, infecting 20 or 50 or 80 others. Is this because all those people came within 2m of the infected? Of course not. Aerosols spread well beyond the 2m mark. 4/n

So going to dine in a room where groups of other tables - whether they're spread out by 4m or even more - is fucking insane. It's not the ephemeral contact you might risk in an outdoor park. It's 60-90 minutes sitting in a fishbowl with everyone else in that room. 5/n

Public health officials have relied on the 2m distancing thing as a guideline but they've absolutely failed to properly explain it. Yes, they've emphasized the *combination* of mask-wearing, distancing, and hand-washing. But... 6/n

By permitting indoor bars and restaurants (and gyms, etc) to remain open, they implied that the 2m rule is sufficient to keep people safe when they're unmasked. It's a fucking gaping hole in our strategy, and ALL of these chief medical officers of health know better. 7/n

They've absolutely failed in this regard, or have been overridden by their idiot political masters. Either way, they should resign.

And unless you can refute what I've said, if you're going to an indoor bar and restaurant, you're a fool. 8/8