Nick Ferrari questions Matt Hancock on likelihood of 2 metre rule being reduced

28 May 2020, 09:16 | Updated: 28 May 2020, 09:24

By Fiona Jones

Nick Ferrari questions the Health Secretary on whether the two metre social distance rule will be reduced after Boris Johnson suggested this was being reviewed by government scientists.

The Health Secretary confirmed to LBC, "The scientists are going to look at it."

"It doesn't change the science that if you are closer then you are more likely to transmit. The scientists tell me that they reckon at one metre for one minute that has the same risk of transmission as being at two metres for 15 minutes.

"So it does make a big difference to transmission, being closer to someone, but the scientists are going to look at it again and put forward some advice."

Speaking to the Liaison Committee of senior MPs on Wednesday, the Prime Minister said: "My own hope is that as we make progress in getting the virus down, in reducing the incidence, that we will be able to reduce that distance, which I think will be particularly valuable in transport and clearly the hospitality sector."

This came after Tory MP Greg Clark noted that the UK is an outlier for enforcing two metre separation, with World Health Organisation guidelines recommending a one metre contact gap.

Countries such as Hong Kong, Singapore, France adhere to a one metre separation while Australia, Germany and the Netherlands recommend 1.5 metres.