Two-metre social distancing rule has ‘no scientific backing’ and should be scrapped – Ex-WHO doctor 

A Former World Health Organization doctor has rubbished the two metre social distancing rule put in place by most governments of the world, saying it should be scrapped as it has no scientific backing.

Different countries have different guidelines on social distancing, which is based on the idea that the closer you are to someone who is infected with coronavirus, the greater the risk of contracting the disease.

According to the WHO, a distance of one metre is safe, while countries have advised a distance of as much as five meters.

Professor Karol Sikora, an Oncologist, said changing government guidelines on how far apart people should stand will be key in getting more people back to work as major governments of the world ease lockdowns caused by the Coronavirus crisis.

Speaking to Good Morning Britain, he said: ‘The way we use our drugs, they way we do investigations, has a base in science , but this [two metre rule] has nothing. The politicians are lost because they get conflicted advice.’

According to the Professor, distancing of 2m was not ‘feasible’ for people getting back to work. When challenged about government claims they are ‘following the science’ with the two-metre rule he said: ‘There is no science about the separation. There are some studies on droplet spread from people that have been done in the past but they are not conclusive. ‘

‘If we have an app to identify people that have an infection and people obey it, which they have done – society has been tremendous obeying the rules of lockdown – then there will be no problem. But workplaces do need some form of closeness together, not less than a metre but certainly less than two metres.’