Personal protective equipment: the cornerstone
Personal infection prevention is the cornerstone of preventing the spread of COVID-19. Personal infection prevention includes hand washing, hand sanitising, measures to reduce transmission when coughing and sneezing, the use of personal protective equipment, and social distancing, often referred to as the two-metre rule.
The Chief Medical Officer has published the following on his website regarding the two-metre rule:
The Chief Medical Officer's explanation of the COVID-19 social distancing restrictions.
Personal infection prevention is the cornerstone of preventing the spread of COVID-19. Personal infection prevention includes hand washing, hand sanitising, measures to reduce transmission when coughing and sneezing, the use of personal protective equipment, and social distancing, often referred to as the two-metre rule.
The 2-metre rule is one of the cornerstones of infection prevention.
The two-metre rule is in place as it is one of the fundamental pillars of infection prevention. Proximity between people increases the risk of transmission. With regard to the virus that causes COVID-19, it has been found that a one-metre distance between individuals reduces the risk of transmission fivefold. For every additional metre, the chances of preventing transmission double. On that basis, rules and guidelines on distance limits have been introduced worldwide. Social distancing has also been referred to by various names, such as physical distancing and the close contact rule, but they are all translations of the English term „social distancing“.
In the Ministry of Health's announcement on restrictions on gatherings due to the pandemic, dated 12 August 2020 No. 792/2020, a general proximity restriction is defined as follows: Physical distancing is the distance between individuals that minimises the risk of transmission. „At gatherings, in all workplaces and in all other activities, including those listed in Article 3, it must be ensured that a distance of at least 2 metres can be maintained between individuals who are not in close contact.“. The advertisement therefore places a duty on operators to ensure that individuals who do not share a household maintain a distance of at least 2 metres. However, individuals are not required to maintain a 2-metre distance.
Each individual is responsible for maintaining their own 2-metre social distancing.
The Chief Medical Officer has, however, encouraged individuals to maintain a distance of at least 2 metres when in contact with other, particularly unrelated or unconnected people, but has not considered it necessary to restrict this exclusively to people with whom one is not in close contact. Thus, it can be said that each individual is responsible for maintaining their own 2-metre distancing restrictions, just like other personal infection prevention measures.