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piemonster
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2236544-coronavirus-are-there-two-strains-and-is-one-more-deadly/
Not 40 mind you.
Claim: ‘It is mutating into a more deadly strain’
All viruses accumulate mutations over time and the virus that causes Covid-19 is no different. How widespread different strains of a virus become depends on natural selection – the versions that can propagate quickest and replicate effectively in the body will be the most “successful”. This doesn’t necessarily mean most dangerous for people though, as viruses that kill people rapidly or make them so sick that they are incapacitated may be less likely to be transmitted.Genetic analysis by Chinese scientists of 103 samples of the virus, taken from patients in Wuhan and other cities, suggests that early on two main strains emerged, designated L and S. Although the L strain appeared to be more prevalent than the S strain (about 70% of the samples belonged to the former), the S branch of the virus was found to be the ancestral version.
The team behind this research suggested that this may indicate the L strain is more “aggressive”, either transmitting more easily or replicating faster inside the body. However, this theory is speculative at this stage – there haven’t yet been direct comparisons to see whether people who catch one version of the virus are more likely to pass it on or suffer more severe symptoms.
So perhaps not 'nonsense'(pobably too strong a word to use on my part.) but not known as yet.
Am I the only person who thinks that if you need to get in your car to go for your daily "walk", you're not acting in the spirit of social isolation.
Car parks near the disused railway line in my neck of the woods absolutely rammed.
(Agree about the delivery drivers BTW, the only close pass I got today was a Sainsburys van.)
FCO staff are vital key workers at risk as well, let’s not forget that
You're right of course and the fact he was a mere 37 shows just how serious this is.
Evening folks hope you’re all well, **** me you lot can talk!
Well no point coming to the Brecon Beacons National Park for your exercise now. The whole lot is officially OOBs. Though how they will police it I am not sure. Lot of local moaning about shutting the Canal Towpath!
https://www.breconbeacons.org/coronavirus-covid-19
Am I the only person who thinks that if you need to get in your car to go for your daily “walk”, you’re not acting in the spirit of social isolation.
Location specific. There are few folk and lots of empty spaces a few minutes drive from me so I can see why folk head there rather than the whole town taking exercise in one small area. You might argue that it's less important for cyclists as they can scoot out of town quick enough but walkers (and dog walkers) are certainly a lot more limited.
As long as it's not a long drive and it's not everyone heading to the same places, I can't honestly see what harm it is doing. Apocryphally, some folk are also combining it with shopping trips so potentially fewer actual journeys overall?
Edit - from another thread
I’ve not left the house and garden since last Tuesday so thought I’d get some exercise in. Figured a pootle along the canal on my new bike to check setup was in order. It’s normally deserted bar the occasional dog walker or bloke fishing at this time of day.
Rammed with people! None of them giving each other any distance whatsoever and most of them were old folk. I just rode a small stretch between two access points and came back home. Never seen so many folk on one small stretch and I normally walk or ride home from work every day when not working from home.
Evening folks hope you’re all, **** me you lot can talk!
That's a relief; I was just about to crack and see if I could start and arms race with Scotroutes for most outrageous Cummings theory.
Double whammy for you, plague out there, and us 🛎ends in here.
most outrageous Cummings theory.
You sure it’s just a theory?
Am I the only person who thinks that if you need to get in your car to go for your daily “walk”, you’re not acting in the spirit of social isolation.
Nope, had the same thought earlier when I saw all the cars heading to a local beauty spot.
As long as it’s not a long drive and it’s not everyone heading to the same places, I can’t honestly see what harm it is doing.
That's the thinking that has ended up with people being spotted driving in the Brecon Beacons then parking up and going for a walk today in an area that as welshfarmer says is officially shut.
People will automatically try to take an extra inch because they are a special case. Once they are given that extra inch by it not being taken back from them they will take more and more until they have the extra mile.
Stay local. Exercise must be taken from your front door only. Movement of people is the method of the virus spreading. At this rate we'll have a full lockdown by the end of the week!
1hr local spin with my daughter today, expecting empty roads. Loads of cars. You wouldn't know anything was going on.
You sure it’s just a theory?
Definitely
Double whammy for you, plague out there, and us 🛎ends in here.
😂 I’ve not really read any posts for a couple of days apart from one crackpot theory. They won’t be bothering us for a few weeks.
Hi everyone. I am in a situation with work regarding the coronavirus. Hoping someone from here can shed some light on it. It's quite lengthy so I do apologies in advance.
So, 2 weeks ago, a colleague came into work after travelling from Spain on the Monday and came into work on the Tuesday. I was not happy with this due to the obvious but work stated there was nothing they could do as he didn't display any symptoms so he stayed in work. With a pregnant and asthmatic wife, I decided to take 8 days leave (Taking me up to this Friday 27.03).
Today, I received an email from HR explaining that we would be adhering to government guidelines and suspending work activities until 14.04.20. The email then stated, "During 25/03-13/04/20 staff will continue to be paid as normal. For employees not authorized to work from home, their hours will be quantified and owed to the business to be recovered during 2020". This includes me, as a technician, who will after the 3 weeks lock down, owe 120 hours to my company in overtime.
I then, on the company wattsapp group, challenged this and said surely it was better to apply for the government 80% salary grant and just have everyone back in after the 3 weeks. After some message exchanges, The manager of my team said to just return to work on Monday the 30th as normal and we will take precautions to not spread Covid-19. (This is not easily done in my field of work). Again, with my wife 29 weeks pregnant and having asthma, I am unwilling to put my family at risk.
Is there any legality to my company asking us to repay 120 hours overtime after being stood down during this pandemic?
Also, I have a 4 week notice period on leaving work. Are there any legality issues with me handing in a notice with immediate effect?
Apologies for the questions but I really am struggling with this situation!
Stay local. Exercise must be taken from your front door only.
Spectacular!
It's like you've read my post but. not. quite. been. able. to. comprehend. it.
@scotroutes that post was me. Needed to get out as going a bit mad after nearly nine days. Canal is a five minute walk/two minutes cycle from my house. I picked it because I use it as a commute route on a regular basis. Honestly gobsmacked by the number of people out compared to usual. Got back off as soon as possible and went straight back home.
Total of about five minutes of exercise. 😕 will be staying in the house and garden from now on. Time to make a homemade heavy bag.
@funkmasterp - yeah, I thought it illustrated my point well. It's fine saying "stay local" but that can result in overwhelming some areas. Surely better that folk spread out a little in order to achieve social distancing, even if that means driving for a few minutes (we're not talking about massive car journeys). In this case, you probably made the best decision in returning home.
Scotroutes - that’s exactly what I do. Instead of walking my dogs in the village with all the old folk, I jump in the car for 10 minutes and disappear into the woods all by myself. Let’s THINK about what we are trying to achieve.
Completely agree with you both. If I do go out again I’ll either be sticking to the roads or considering using the car for ten minutes and going further afield
Mrs RNP in A&E with it today, symptoms started last Monday that progressed through fever, cough etc, had breathing difficulties this Monday, felt fine yesterday as though she was on the mend, woke up today with quite severe breathing difficulties, did the online Corona check, 111, got worse so 999 and taken to A&E.
Blood saturations level okay and all other signs ok, done chest xray. Dont know much more at this time.
Healthy 46yr old. Bloody scary. #itsnotjustthesameasacold
Nothing expressly forbids people driving somewhere to go for a walk, but scenes last weekend - where tourist attractions such as Snowdonia attracted larger than usual crowds, and with them, the risk of spreading the virus - suggest that this may not be a good idea.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-51176409
I have been doing the same 10 minutes drive takes me to woods that you (did) very rarely see anyone, however it has been getting a bit busier. I will need to go deeper into the woods now
I've been amazed by the mental gymnastics some people will go through to find a loophole to allow them to do X.
The virus won't go 'you got me there' and avoid you!
Mrs RNP in A&E with it today, symptoms started last Monday that progressed through fever, cough etc, had breathing difficulties this Monday, felt fine yesterday as though she was on the mend, woke up today with quite severe breathing difficulties, did the online Corona check, 111, got worse so 999 and taken to A&E.
Blood saturations level okay and all other signs ok, done chest xray. Dont know much more at this time.
Healthy 46yr old. Bloody scary. #itsnotjustthesameasacold
Sorry to hear that 🙁
☹️
I’ve been amazed by the mental gymnastics some people will go through to find a loophole to allow them to do X.
Almost back full circle on the day - people Morris Dancing their way through the rules of life to get to the dog ate my homework. Or maybe 'I didn't know it wasn't bridleway', do people actually still think that's credible as an excuse?
Whilst it might seem like something out of an Ealing comedy to come up with increasingly intricate ways around the rules the consequences aren't funny.
I think it would be good time for someone higher up this page to just phone in sick with the shits and remain off sick until the stupid ****ers close anyhow. Health first work second unless you've signed up to a profession where this kind of risk is part of the job.
I’ve been amazed by the mental gymnastics some people will go through to find a loophole to allow them to do X.
Almost back full circle on the day – people Morris Dancing their way through the rules of life to get to the dog ate my homework. Or maybe ‘I didn’t know it wasn’t bridleway’, do people actually still think that’s credible as an excuse?
Whilst it might seem like something out of an Ealing comedy to come up with increasingly intricate ways around the rules the consequences aren’t funny.
So are you suggesting I take my dogs a walk around the area outside my house (which is now full of people exercising) or drive 10 minutes to the woods which are considerably more quiet. Here is a hint I carry out risk assessments at my work, and the woods is a far lower risk for me and everyone else involved but hey if you think you know my circumstances better than me then crack on
I see Dyson has received an order for 10,000 ventilators from the UK government..
I wonder if they will be made in the UK?
Very interesting!
I wonder how much plasma you would need for this to be effective. Might need a unfeasibly large number of donors to vaccine the whole country, also there would be safety concerns in doing that.
Plasma antibodies are not a vaccine. It’s something we already do for immunocompromised patients etc, BPL is the main supplier in the UK. Unfortunately we have to source most
of our plasma donations from US because of vCJD and we privatised BPL. To get enough requires fairly specialised kit, which we have not set up in the UK. At the moment I believe the yanks are busy sequestering BPLs American division as BPL was bought by China. Something something....strategic national importance to the yanks but not to us.
Good luck getting that treatment to British patients anytime soon.
You can thank the Tories.
#Britishstupidity
#allinittogether
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHh0V7UjVXI
had breathing difficulties this Monday, felt fine yesterday as though she was
Did she rest up on when she felt better or was she straight back into life?
I'm wondering if you can relapse with exercise or just over doing it, although over doing it might just be life as normal.
Best wishes RNP. Hope your wife gets better soon.
So are you suggesting I take my dogs a walk around the area outside my house (which is now full of people exercising) or drive 10 minutes to the woods which are considerably more quiet. Here is a hint I carry out risk assessments at my work, and the woods is a far lower risk for me and everyone else involved but hey if you think you know my circumstances better than me then crack on
It's not a specific singling of anyone - it's a comment on everything.
I could go for - that's a sound assessment crack on. The next person comes along with why is it ok of them. From the different places I've lived over the years some I would be completely stumped as to how to find a place to get away from it.
There is a difference between Moris Dancing and risk assessing - one's an unproductive waste of time and energy putting unnecessary steps into a situation. The other keeps you safe.
From the different places I’ve lived over the years some I would be completely stumped as to how to find a place to get away from it.
Right, but in some you could find a place to get away from it, so you can at least see that it might be the better option for some people?
I read somewhere that if you are out running and someone is running the same way you should cross over the road to avoid them
Now I understand this is a nasty virus, but is it genuinely that infectious? What happened to the 'close contact is 15 minutes within 2 meters of another person' that they were spouting earlier in the outbreak. I mean if I'm not allowed to pass someone briefly on the pavement then I'm sure as hell not going to venture into a supermarket.
Simple way to sort it, outdoor exercise is forbidden, easy. A few months off the bike is a small price to pay, and dog owners can pick up shite in their gardens.
I wonder how much plasma you would need for this to be effective. Might need a unfeasibly large number of donors to vaccine the whole country, also there would be safety concerns in doing that.
When the Chinese tried it they needed a couple of units to be sure to get enough antibody because some plasma had v low amounts
IF we get antibody testing kits, I guess they may indentify folk who've seroconverted "successfully". After that, yeah, you need a process for producing the stuff
Inside there’s just no way to stray apart, and lots of people. It’s the most people I’ve been close to in the last 2 weeks. Prime location for passing something on!
I gave at the weekend. I thought it was reasonably well spaced compared to normal and i figured these were some of the least likely people in town to have CV - if you even thought you might you wouldn’t go, and there were screening questions, everyone was asked to wash hands with a proper sink and then sanitise (and we sanitised at the front door too).
Scottish Stocks are actually looking OK now except for B- (which is quite alarmingly low). And the staff said they were expecting about 1/2 as much demand as CV isn’t treated with blood products and other stuff was being cut right back. But people will still have accidents, emergency surgery, difficult births etc and cancer patients, burns patients, need ongoing treatment. If you don’t want to go to a major donation session - make an appointment at one of the static centres they are usually much quieter.
I think the queue outside boots looked much higher risk to me.
The more you violently exhale the more potentially hazardous particles you emit and the further they go. The 2m rule is not absolutely safe. It’s a question of degree. So yes. Cross the Street especially if you are running. Unless you have very good stocks of food you are going to have to get it from somewhere
and dog owners can pick up shite in their gardens.
What about if they don't have a garden?
Dog owner who doesn't have a garden probably shouldn't have a dog.
Moving on, its becoming tiresome reading what-ifs; gov recommendations are out there - could be clearer - but, if in doubt, don't.
What about if they don’t have a garden?
You really don't know where I'm going to go with that?.... 🤣
Quick update ~ 7 hours later, Mrs RNP released, no corona test even though bloods done, xray was ‘okay’ breathing a little better but still nowhere near where it should be and now flaked out on the sofa completely exhausted. Told if lips turn blue to return.
Hospital not geared up for it - no social spacing, public, staff and visitors all close proximity.
Fingers crossed for you RNP.
RM.
Crossing everything for you.
RNP - fingers crossed, thoughts with you.
@poly you’re probably right about the people there not being very likely to have it but if it’s as contagious as we’re told then it would only take 1 person a few days ago and it would be around the nurses in no time.
I was told to wash my hands but no hand sanitizer for the punters, and only additional screening question was “are you feeling well and have you been near anyone unwell”.
They wanted me to hang around after to make sure I was ok (as usual) but I left straight away.
I think the queue outside boots looked much higher risk to me.
Yes but I’ve been staying away from there too, I went in to Boots for my wife’s prescription the other day, second person in and straight out again.
Neither of us have been in a supermarket since a week Saturday. Without getting overly obsessed I am being very careful, as much as anything because I’m still working and once someone gets it there it will probably get around everyone pretty quick.
RNP that doesn’t sound good, get well soon Mrs RNP.
Just to prove that banks will be banks, read this:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-52043896
It isn't all of them but, yet again, we're not all in it together.
What a bunch of shits.
More names to add to the shit list of companies who should be shunned.
You've just posted the same article twice. What are you expecting banks to do exactly, they are private businesses who aren't going to take on the risk themselves. Not sure why you would expect them to tbh. I work for a bank (Not one of those mentioned in the article) and they have gone above and beyond with regards to their employees, both temp and perm
As for RNP's wife..she hasn't even been tested? That sounds absolutely ridiculously. Is that because it's a clear case and there Is no point, or because they've run out (Despite prince Charles having one for his 'mild symptoms')
Banks - yes, we'll definitely support you but will accept zero risk; as for what gov wants/expects we'll just ignore that - again.
The problem with emergency measures - as was proven in 2008/9 - is that well intentioned support schemes are 'used' (was going to say gamed) by organisations inc banks who should be part of the solution but, in fact, help perpetuate the problem.
Going back to 2008/9, banks mis-used the support available to rebuild their capital reserves and generally ignored what the gov wanted and expected them to do.
That's without getting into debate about banks culpability in causing the problem but that's a different story.
I made no reference to how banks have treated their employees and don't see the relevance of your comment in the context of them (not) supporting customers as intended through a gov backed scheme.
As for double posting a link - I'll sort that in the morning.
I can see companies abusing the antibody tests as well
If you have had it you will be told to come back in - I suppose this is fair enough based on what we know.
If you haven't had it you'll be encouraged to expose yourself so you can come back to work afterwards... irrespective of the harm this causes.
The point I was trying to make yesturday was
If 100 people show enough symptons to convince 3 tiers of health professionals that they have Corona Virus , and upon testing only 9 of them test positive, and 91 are clear then there has to be a reason why
Either .- The test is flawed ( doubtful)
The patient is psycoshematic and has conjured up the symptons in their head (doubtful)
There is another virus doing the rounds that presents identically to C19 , but clearly isn't
and this isnt being tested for either ( eg. seasonal flu )
They are deliberatly faking the symptons to get time off work ( well enough to get tested ?)
Hope your wife makes a full recovery Rusty , must be a very worrying time for you all.
I am still working , Breweries with Off Licences given exemption from lockdown. Being very , very careful with spacing in the shop . We are lucky to have 3 of the WHO listed C19 killers on site , Chlorinated caustic, PAA and Quat , so able to wipe down everything that gets sold, card reader keypad between customers , door wedged open etc , cash gets a Quat rinse .
You will not see any of this happening in Tescos
I pretty much gave up drink when junior was young as having a few and catching a cold off him became more than a coincidence. Clearly it's a personal choice and some people are dependent so it's a bad time to ban sales to add to miseries, but for those of us who have a choice staying off booze is a good idea.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110929235156.htm
I can’t help but be reminded of Brewing For Victory on the off license thing.
Not really the same deal but rather suspect it’s still something that’s come out if the behavioural sciences department rather than a let’s keep those “dependent” jacked up.
If you have had it you will be told to come back in – I suppose this is fair enough based on what we know.
If we knew that you cant get it twice, which we dont
Yep , totally agree . Its a moral thing fo shure . Or to stop rioting in the streets , keep the public slightly pissed at home not out making a nuisence of themselves .
WW2 they brewed throughout , and alot of women brewsters were employed or brewers given exemption from call up.
Theres no volume though , a couple of dozen take homes = 10% of our weekly output ish and we will probably close down next month and mothball .
On the subject of off-licenses, my wife (ACP in an ED) thinks it’s a good idea.
She thinks that without access to alcohol especially now pubs are shut, there would be a risk of alcoholics being unable to supply their addiction and going into withdrawal, therefore having to attend ED with all the issues that brings (blocking available space in hospital, etc...)
Yes, it’s not necessary great for them long term but it’s actually helpful to both them and the healthcare system short term.
I did comment to her the other day that I actually felt sorry for the ‘Weatherspoons bloke’, those who are there every morning at 8am and stay till the evening. Although alcohol addiction is often a large part of their habitual attendance at the church of cheap drink, it’s also effectively a social club and may well be one of the few places they get any social contact. Isolation is all very well when you are a relatively fit and healthy person but for those amongst us who are vunerable (& not just in a Coronavirus sense) it must be pretty awful.
Morning folks, another day in the rabbit hole
Onwards and through, in any particular situation some of us are up some of us are down. There's not really a right and a wrong only a don't take the xxss. All of us are equally capable of being idiots.
Anyway back to life tips:
Is it a drying day? Might I recommend some washing.
Take care out there folks and be kind.
If we knew that you cant get it twice, which we dont
Below article (dated yesterday) says you will have immunity for some time after recovery - how long for is not clear yet. However, they think even if you can catch it again, it will be milder second time around.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/25/health/coronavirus-immunity-antibodies.html
Weird. Shows the thumbnail but won't click through. Here is a Twitter link instead:
https://twitter.com/apoorva_nyc/status/1242942843519467521
Same again
Edit, that’s worked
I read somewhere that if you are out running and someone is running the same way you should cross over the road to avoid them
Airborne transmission so best to avoid someone breathing heavy 20m better than 2m 🙂
Whilst walking the dogs I tend to cross over as a common courtesy but not seeing this being reciprocated with dual runners around my way who just seem to steam on two abreast towards you. Single runners conversely adjust course way in advance.
Hmm and the max 20mph speed limits to have been raised to 40mph as well.
RNP - best wishes to your wife.
I'm feeling a bit more confident today than yesterday as to our chances of getting this virus under control.
I think it was mentioned before about Italian people smoking. It's a way of life for them, young Italians all do it, it's classed as cool and just a part of their culture. Thus this surely has something to do with their high mortality rate.
Nearly everyone I know is taking the message 'stay at home, Protect the NHS and save lives' seriously and complying.
Of course my next door neighbours think they're exempt and have been carrying on as though nothing is happening.
Planning our first shopping trip of the lockdown later. As an MTBer I never thought I'd see a day when going to the supermarket might be the most dangerous thing I do all year.
Worth taking some gloves or not?
If 100 people show enough symptons to convince 3 tiers of health professionals that they have Corona Virus , and upon testing only 9 of them test positive, and 91 are clear then there has to be a reason why
The patient is psycoshematic and has conjured up the symptons in their head (doubtful)
There is another virus doing the rounds that presents identically to C19 , but clearly isn’t
and this isnt being tested for either ( eg. seasonal flu )
I think it’s probably a combination of these things. Seasonal flu and common colds won’t have gone away, and because everyone is hyper aware of COVID-19, which has symptoms almost identical to many colds & flu’s, everyone who has anything resembling it at the moment is assuming it’s COVID-19.
The test results just suggest that 9 out of 10 times it isn’t actually COVID-19, just a ‘regular’ cold/flu etc.
Very refreshing interview with Lord Rose from Occado on the Today program. You won't hear a politician speaking like that!
"UK homes have a billion pounds more food in their cupboards! How much are you going to eat?"
It will be here later from 8:10 AM (or - 50 min).
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qj9z/episodes/player
This is what leadership sounds like
I was told to wash my hands but no hand sanitizer for the punters
Isn't hand washing more effective than sanitiser?
I’m going to wear gloves & a mask outside my “safe place”. Mainly to stop myself touching my face. Plus if I’m asymptotic it should stop me spreading - that’s generally the reason Asian countries have worn masks, politeness to others.
“UK homes have a billion pounds more food in their cupboards! How much are you going to eat?”
Well, we are eating a lot more at home than we used to. That billion quid must be offset against the food that Pret a Manger and McDonalds etc aren't buying.
I was reading about 'aerosol' droplet emissions from a sneeze, they can go 60m apparently. Open your back windows, not your front ones.
Well, we are eating a lot more at home than we used to.
Exactly, buying more food from supermarkets is to be expected. I used to eat lunch at work, I used to eat out at the weekends. All that is now replaced with eating food from supplies in my house. When you have 70 million people doing that, hitting a billions pounds is not that hard.
Isn’t hand washing more effective than sanitiser?
I'd been thinking about a similar thing. If a good dose of soapy water and a brush being is a better way to clean off things like gate snacks and catches before using them. Mostly I'm walking on the road at the moment to avoid battles with gates. There's definitely an increase in the number of people using some of the paths round the village - more footprints in the mud than usual.
Sadly it also seems some people's way of keeping a bit of normality is littering - nitrile gloves, WTF. No, I din't pick them up. Yes I have thought about picking up litter on the way round. Probably will at some point but waiting to see what the bins do - on the one hand spring clean good on the other putting suddenly massive amounts of rubbish into the system bad. Especially if we all did it at once - there's that law of untended consequences again.
@scotroutes - sorry, I was posting after just getting off the phone with my parents. Both of them are refusing to not go out despite explicit instructions from their doctors to stay at home and not go out. They both think it's not going to get them and that by going out unnecessarily they are no risk to anyone at all. Not following the rules is a bit of a site subject right now.
You are right in that going 10 minutes to find a quiet spot is the best thing to do in some situations but there are people who will abuse any leeway for their own personal reasons. I'm currently working in the Welsh Valleys and there are lots of people out not paying attention to the 2m rule, of all ages and some are in groups but as all they're doing is popping to the newsagents for the papers and a part by of milk they don't have to follow the rules.
Like I said, a touchy subject with me right now. Might give the internet a miss for a few hours.
Italian Mayor Threatens To Send "Police With Flamethrowers" To Graduation Parties
https://twitter.com/i/status/1241696164782669824
Isn’t hand washing more effective than sanitiser?
Yes I think it is. Washed hands on way in to hall, but then sat about for 30mins once inside including filling in a form and passing clipboards between people.
Agreed, my work has gone through sanitiser at a ridiculous rate, even though there is no lack of sinks or handwash.
It is my understanding that alcohol sanitiser is particularly effective at destroying the coronavirus due to its "envelope" or some such. It's a good idea IMO to have it at the entrance to a premises, then people don't have to traipse through to find a sink & potentially touch things on the way.
Sorry if this has already been posted.
Canal and rivers trust:
Only use towpaths that are local to you, only if you have to (going to work etc).
Stay away from moored boats.
This is it in a nutshell.
People have been spotted in groups still walking out along the tow paths.
Admittedly I had to push myself into a hedge the other day to get away from 2 lads tearing along on bicycle shaped objects, with very little space.