I'm 'not going caving' not because I'm afraid of the risk - I wouldn't have taken up caving in the first place if that were the case. I'm partly not going caving as I don't drive, and so have to use the bus - and I can't share a car with anyone outside my household - which is everyone. I also have to use the club hut as I don't have a car to put my stuff in while I'm caving, or anywhere to wash it at home as I live in a 2nd floor flat. And the club's in the centre of Castleton and I don't want to piss off the locals, even if it's unjustified. I'm a committee member and our reputation is important. And the hut is a shared space, which means cleaning everything that I touch. Those are the practical aspects - phew. But if the showcaves re-open, it will get interesting.
I'm actually not that worried about catching it myself, which may sound cavalier, and possibly foolish, but most of these things generally just pass by me. Apart from kidney stones (I was in hospital) I've never gone to bed for anything in my life other than sex or sleep.
I'm also not going caving as the only thing I want to do is carry on our projects, and it's impractical at the moment - we can't guarantee anyone's safety if we do them, unless we know we're all either immune or guaranteed negative. We can't pursue either of the main ones without at least four people, and it's far too confined a space in both digs - with a very strong draught outwards in one, and barely any fresh air at all in the other. Both involve sharing each other's spaces to a degree that requires we really like each other, and outside caving would be viewed with bemusement at best. Another is the same with the added thrill of being buried alive. I can't be arsed going to easy caves that I've done a hundred times just so I can say I've been caving - what's the point? There's surface work and following leads to be getting on with if the public transport restrictions relax, and I have plenty of other interests too apart from caving.
Personally, but also as a committee member of DCA, I can't recommend to anyone that it's safe to go caving because I just don't know - nobody does, which is why this thread's at 16 pages now. We're incapable of stopping anyone going caving, but I also don't think we're obliged to encourage folks to go caving either until we know more about the repercussions of doing it in a pandemic. That's not what we're there for. All our local caves are accessible unless stated otherwise - and if the landowner allows access currently, as was negotiated previously in normal times by the DCA in some cases. I don't really understand what 'striving to give them the option' means? They can do what they like - we're not their parents.
Personally speaking, If I were paid a salary, I might put a bit more effort in than I already do to find out the hard science and the deeper implications behind all this, as I would hope that I'd then have some legal protection for possibly giving out the wrong advice, like our comedy government clearly do. But I'm not paid a salary, and I know that what I do, say or write may influence others. I'm not boasting, it's just a fact. But I'm not volunteering to give out potentially lethal advice. Those with the final salary pensions can take that risk.
After the last week's shenanigans in London (and especially today's) I'll be watching the numbers very carefully, as that's far more important to me at the moment than breathing in more radon for no good reason. The parks in Sheffield today were like bloody Glastonbury - they are never normally that full, ever. Many people are really losing the plot at the moment, and the ones who are trying to do what they believe is the right thing (which may not be following current government advice, but being stricter if necessary) could end up getting totally screwed.
