Thread by @Mikepeeljourno, European governments are locking down again due to a Covid-19 resurgence. One [...]

European governments are locking down again due to a Covid-19 resurgence. One problem is a failure to communicate to the public where the main risks lie - notably indoors. Here’s my FT latest with . @sam1fleming and . @jburnmurdoch + A SHORT THREAD

(1/6) https://www.ft.com/content/88113840-757e-4b7b-8be6-f8c2ce942021

Europe grapples with what went wrong in Covid-19 resurgence

Authorities seek to avoid permanent series of rolling restrictions as winter drives people indoors

https://www.ft.com/content/88113840-757e-4b7b-8be6-f8c2ce942021

This piece in June on how to avoid the virus still holds. It cites some fascinating studies and is brilliantly illustrated by . @jburnmurdoch. Note how small the risk outdoors is compared with indoors, where "superspreader" events tend to occur.

(2/6) https://www.ft.com/content/2418ff87-1d41-41b5-b638-38f5164a2e94

How to avoid the virus as the world reopens | Free to read

A guide to where the biggest risks lie as lockdowns ease

https://www.ft.com/content/2418ff87-1d41-41b5-b638-38f5164a2e94

Also kudos to colleagues at . @elpaisinenglish for this excellent recent animation that shows why the biggest hazard to avoid is prolonged contact in poorly-ventilated and cramped enclosed spaces. (LINK)

(3/6) https://english.elpais.com/society/2020-10-28/a-room-a-bar-and-a-class-how-the-coronavirus-is-spread-through-the-air.html

A room, a bar and a class: how the coronavirus is spread through the air

The risk of contagion is highest in indoor spaces but can be reduced by applying all available measures to combat infection via aerosols. Here is an overview of the likelihood of infection in three...

https://english.elpais.com/society/2020-10-28/a-room-a-bar-and-a-class-how-the-coronavirus-is-spread-through-the-air.html

Japan’s warning to the public to avoid the “three Cs”: closed spaces, crowded places and close-contact settings is an excellent example of explaining how to live with the virus by using simple messages to highlight where the big problems lie.

(4/6) https://www.ft.com/content/34f60c6d-ace0-437d-9649-bdabcd952425

Masked karaoke: Japan faces new normal as country reopens

More than 100 guidelines on how to avoid the ‘three Cs’: closed spaces, crowded places and close-contact settings

https://www.ft.com/content/34f60c6d-ace0-437d-9649-bdabcd952425

Contrast this with the absurdist complexity of this recent (now superseded) rule on the various permutations of time and day you had wear a mask in a sparsely populated single street in Brussels – in any case a very low risk environment.

(5/6)

Contrast this with the absurdist complexity of this recent (now superseded) rule on the various permutations of time and day you had wear a mask in a sparsely populated single street in Brussels – in any case a very low risk environment. (5/6)

There are of course country variations, but this August piece highlights how what may come to be seen as a breakdown in European public health policy reflects a lack of clear explanation of degrees of risk – and how to navigate life accordingly. (6/6) https://www.ft.com/content/caff8a28-768a-4e68-84d9-43a8d07a43e1

Following the science: lessons from a 19th-century showman

The nature of scientific knowledge has been abused during the pandemic — politicians could learn from the story of Sir Humphry Davy

https://www.ft.com/content/caff8a28-768a-4e68-84d9-43a8d07a43e1

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