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Researchers suggest "one-size-fits-all" replaced by "graded recommendations".
Two-metre social distancing deployed across the world to limit the spread of coronavirus is based on "outdated science", experts have said.
A group of British scientists said distance should not be the focal point of measures designed to limit the spread of the virus and that the
one-size-fits-all system should be replaced
by "graded recommendations" for different settings.
The UK government, as in many other nations, recommends people should remain two metres or one metre if mitigating factors such as face masks and screens are in use. But researchers writing in the
British Medical Journal (BMJ) said more flexible guidance would enable "a return towards normality in some aspects of social and economic life".
"Current rules on safe physical distancing are based on outdated science," Nicholas Jones, from Oxford University's Nuffield Department of Primary Care, and his colleagues wrote. They added:
"Distribution of viral particles is affected by numerous factors, including air flow. Evidence suggests Sars-CoV-2 may travel more than two metres through activities such as coughing and shouting.
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