Please be careful and do it step by step 
73, Jarek
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Following the announcements this evening by PM Boris Johnson describing relaxation of travel and exercise restrictions, is it acceptable that activations taking place from Wednesday onwards will now be within the spirit of Sota provided the Social Distancing is properly maintained?
Guidance needed
David
G0EVV
Johnson’s announcement covers G only. Restrictions in GW, GM, GI remain in respect of unnecessary travel I believe.
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This should provide a bit more guidance, but agree it won’t be SOTA specific - hopefully clarify things a bit more though?
Personally, I think I’d be happier if the SOTA organisers weighed in with their thoughts before I grab my FT817 
OK, well like I say - from what the PM said in this evening’s broadcast:
- It looks OK to drive out to a local SOTA hill to get some exercise
- It looks OK to rest during that exercise and enjoy the fresh air (insert SOTA here…)
- There appears to be no longer any distance or time limits for exercise or travel to exercise - but I think still some common sense is expected regarding “unnecessary travel” - which I’m interpreting in this context as “visit your local SOTAs” rather than do 200+ mile round trips!
- Continue to observe social distancing and good hand hygiene.
However - this summary is compiled merely from my recollections of this evening’s speech. I’m fairly confident it is accurate, and an appropriate interpretation of the new phase in our context, but I will be fully reviewing whatever the Government publish in writing before actually acting upon it - and urge everyone else to do likewise.
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Personal view here:
I listened to the Boriscast and think I heard enough to convince me you can drive quite some distance to your place of exercise, you are not limited by how long you can leave the home, you are able to sit in the countryside (don’t have to be exercising all the time), you still have to stay away from others. All those things suggest a SOTA activation would fall inside all the rules for England.
Does that mean I think it’s OK to activate? Well personally no even if the rules for Scotland were the same as England. I fail to see any moral justification to go out and play radio under the cover of exercise at present and certainly not as soon as the rules are relaxed. If the current trend continues (falling infection rates, hospital services coping well etc.) primary schools recommencing and more shops opening, then I would feel less uncomfortable activating “trivial” hills.
Just because you can doesn’t mean you should.
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And just because someone thinks you shouldn’t, doesn’t mean you can’t.
Data from China today said that just one out of a study of 1200+ infections of CV19 was transmitted outdoors. One presumes that if the Government are easing the restrictions on exercising and being outdoors, that they are recognising that this is a positive for physical and mental well-being.
I am entirely confident I can activate locally on Wednesday morning without any increase in probability of receiving or transmitting infection. I will travel alone in my private car. I will take a route to and from the summit on which I’ve never ever met another person in 18 years. I will operate from a position where nobody goes - any visitors to the summit will likely come and go without even realising I am there. It will be completely in the spirit of the government instructions, as well as compliant, and I will be aware, as requested.
My weight has started to creep back up again - and for me, obesity is a much greater risk factor as regards CV19 than me being alone on a hill in the fresh air.
Trivial hills - yes, sensible call. I’m going to be ten minutes away from my car at any stage.
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If all the criteria are met, then I cannot really see a problem.
Everyday cyclists and runners come within 2 metres of me but I would be well away from anybody taking my exercise and helping my well being
Dave
Is your PM an authorative source?
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About as reliable as Trump!
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Yes, because he is our democratically elected authority.
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Steve is spot on here. Ultimately, Boris has the final say. What’s happening with the other comments betrays a lack of confidence in the PM’s judgement, the like of which I don’t think I’ve seen before in my lifetime. A lack of confidence that I do share to some extent.
But as Steve correctly says, what he says goes. There really isn’t any “Hmm we don’t trust him, let’s wait and see what the Government has to say about it”. He IS the Government, and he’s already said it. We have to be objective, not subjective - which has always been a core principle of SOTA!
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The only guideline seems against us going out is " stay at home when possible " it’s not a necessity to operate /p but we are getting exercise and fresh air when most of us have been stuck inside for upto 7 weeks .
I know I’m thinking to go out Wednesday after work just to stretch my legs and get some country air not on a sota summit just a local hill . Give a month and then il think about travelling 2 hours to a summit .
73 2E0FGX
These discussions puzzle me, I don’t understand how the distance one drives (solo) to the point of taking exercise affects the spread of a virus. Whether you drive 1 km or 100km, the result is that you have not infected anyone on that trip. So why is the distance relevant at all? it seems like it is just providing law enforcement with a reason to find fault with public behaviour. which does not do anything to affect virus spread. have the authorities forgotten their aim was to drain the swamp?
And even if you do have the virus, a walk up a hill may risk infecting others on the way. But it’s the same however many km you drove to that hill. It’s only one hill. I don’t see any multiplying effect from driving greater distances. Unless the longer distances have a demonstrable increase in motor vehicle accidents, which is fine for 800 km but not 40. what am I missing here?
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Generally the more time you spend on the road, the more times you will go into a local shop, petrol station etc. More potential contact. The virus does not move. People move the virus. So I guess its an overall aspiration to minimise movement of people, and minimise potential contact with other people.
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That means the problem is multiple stops rather than distance travelled.
I hope all those precautions do have the desired outcome. I sympathise with the folk having to live with the restrictions.
73 Andrew VK1DA/VK2UH
The more time you spend on the road, the more likely you are to have an accident.
This may well then require the involvement of police / medical / breakdown personnel coming to your aid and increasing the chance of infection to all involved.
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Yes, it will be about the amount you mingle. Take the kids out for an hour’s drive to a park Vs take the family out for a day’s drive and you will stop a few times to feed and water them, thus much more mingling, higher risk of catching things etc.
The headline rules inevitably have to be pretty general, otherwise they would need 50 pages of guidance… 
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