Being fat obese can double someone’s risk of going to the hospital for severe COVID-19 symptoms, a new report published by the University of Glasgow concluded this week. With that being said, a leaked document from the UK government obtained by The Sun outlines how obese people could be forced by their employer to work at home for the next year as lockdown restrictions are relaxed.
The proposed measures, currently in draft form with the UK government, are aimed at preventing workplace transmission of the virus by protecting the most vulnerable of society. Along with overweight people, the elderly, women who are pregnant, and people with heart disease and diabetes have been profiled by the government with weak immune systems.
In a post-corona world, as restrictions are lifted, the measures will serve as a guideline for businesses to reopen their offices, as they must comply with government orders. It calls for shields around each desk to limit the virus spread. Companies will have to ban sitting back-to-back, hot-desking, and sharing of equipment. There will also be marks on the ground to instruct where people can or cannot stand. When people return to their desks, pre/post corona workspaces might be unrecognizable.
The measures also include handwashing and sanitizing stations around the office. This will allow employees to clean their hands and workstations regularly.
The proposed measures will likely limit face-to-face meetings and only allow if necessary. Employees will be forbidden from sharing pens, computers, and or any other devices. The strict rules will likely force employers to drive more staff to work at home.
The Sun was told after 6-12 months of the new measures, a review period would be seen to see if the workspace rules will stay in place.
An industry source said: “If it [COVID-19] survives the winter, these measures will have to be in place longer.”
Several company bosses told The Sun that new social distancing measures could also help to mitigate the traditional flu.
“The one positive is traditional flu cases will go down because you’re socially distancing,” the source said.
The proposed measures, still in draft form, are not just guidelines to prepare offices for a post-corona world, the measures cover many other parts of society, as described by The Sun:
- Offices: Staggered shift times, less sharing of equipment and continued maximisation of home working are among a number of ideas listed as part of a draft government strategy to help businesses prepare for a return to work. Increased hygiene procedures and the installation of protective screens are also included in the plan. Efforts to avoid employees working face-to-face will see them working side by side or facing away from each other, according to the plans leaked to Buzzfeed News.
- Shops: There will be limits on the number of people in stores so Brits will be asked to shop alone to enable shops to be allowed to open and kick-start the economy. The advice for reopening non-essential shops such as clothes stores will be similar to the supermarket rules. Tape setting out two metre distances will have to be put on shop floors, and Brits will need to queue outside. Many shops will go cashless to stop the spread of the virus through money.
- Public Transport: In cities like London, maintaining the two-metre rule would make it impossible for workplaces to operate anywhere near full capacity. The most used Tube line for commuters is the Central Line, but in order to operate social distancing rules its usage would have to be cut by a staggering 85 per cent. Hand sanitiser will be installed on trains to protect commuters. Platforms and bus stops will contain two metre markers to maintain social distancing and one-way systems will be in place.
- Schools: A complex blueprint for schools to open in waves of different age groups is being planned. Reopening primary schools is a priority for the government in order to minimise the threat to early years development and help parents return to work. But Year 6 pupils will be first back if they are forced to stagger the reopening dates as they are at the most crucial stage of their learning. PM Boris Johnson wants the first schools to reopen on June 1. Year 10 and 12 pupils are expected to be the first wave of secondary schools to open. No firm date has been set for reopening workplaces but The Sun revealed last week that May 26 has been pencilled in as a target date as long as the government’s five tests for lifting the lockdown measures are met by then.
As to everyone who is overweight and wants to return to an office setting because their 550 sq. ft. flat in London is a jail cell — well, now might be the time to hop on a Peloton or an exercise bike. What’s baffling to us, is at what weight will the government determine if someone is too fat to work in an office?
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Featured image: China sends an expert team and a large shipment of medical equipment to the United Kingdom on Saturday to help in the fight against COVID-19. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
