![\"In](\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2020\/10\/17\/16\/34509392-8850441-image-m-17_1602947250069.jpg\")
<\/p>\nA few weeks back, a friend of mine was almost caught short on the way to work. OK, it wasn\u2019t a friend, it was me.<\/p>\n
When I say almost, I mean I very nearly didn\u2019t make it. Of course, this isn\u2019t a subject I\u2019m thrilled to write about. But over the past few months, we\u2019ve been highlighting the problem of public conveniences remaining closed \u2018due to Covid\u2019.<\/p>\n
And, in all honesty, I\u2019d been worried something like this would happen to me for some time. I was on a bus, which I\u2019d already waited almost an hour for, now stuck in gridlocked traffic, when it dawned on me: I needed to go.<\/p>\n
A while passed. The bus didn\u2019t move. Actually, I really needed to go. A number of years ago I had bowel surgery and now, although things are relatively back to normal, I sometimes have a certain urgency. I realised this was going to be one of those times.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
In June, the Government wrote to local councils explicitly stating that \u2018enabling access to toilets is vital\u2019, and gave detailed guidance for maintaining social distancing and hygiene<\/p>\n
Hoping to cut my losses, I hopped off the bus and bolted over the road to a petrol garage. The loo, as I feared, was shut, with no explanation as to why. My next target was the large nearby park where I knew there would be public toilets. After speed-reading the park map and five minutes of rather strange sprint-walking, I found the first facility.<\/p>\n
A sign was attached to the bolted-shut gate saying it was \u2018closed until further notice in the interest of public safety\u2026 to reduce the spread of coronavirus\u2026\u2019 or some rubbish to that effect.<\/p>\n
There was another loo, over the other side of the park. Another five minutes of agonised waddling later, I arrived to discover that too was locked up. At this point, I was so maddened that if there\u2019d been a brick to hand, I\u2019d probably have hurled it at a window.<\/p>\n
I began to eye up outcrops of bushes \u2013 but really, none offered much privacy.<\/p>\n
I know it sounds terrible, but I was absolutely desperate: trapped between two of the most humiliating situations imaginable. I decided on a last-ditch attempt to hold on to my dignity: flag a taxi, tell them to stop as soon as we passed a coffee shop, and pray.<\/p>\n
Sweating, and semi-running along the pavement in a panic, I saw no cabs. But I spotted a pub having barrels delivered and beetled toward the assembled staff and deliverymen. \u2018Please could I use your loo. I\u2019m so sorry to ask but it\u2019s a bit of an emergency,\u2019 I grovelled.<\/p>\n
They took pity and disaster was, thankfully, averted. However, two years back, closer to when I\u2019d had those operations, it would all have been over long before finding that pub.<\/p>\n
Of course, my story has raised a few laughs. It\u2019s the way I tell \u2019em, I suppose. But really, almost soiling yourself is no joke \u2013 and this kind of nightmare scenario is becoming an all too horrible reality for thousands of Britons.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2020\/10\/17\/16\/34509384-8850441-image-a-18_1602947311562.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
A worker tapes over locked doors to ensure that safe distance will be kept in an elementary school. More than 300 public toilets have shut since the start of the pandemic<\/p>\n
Last week, we published the disappointing results of our own investigation which revealed that more than 300 loos have shut since the start of the pandemic.<\/p>\n
In June, the Government wrote to local councils explicitly stating that \u2018enabling access to toilets is vital\u2019, and gave detailed guidance for maintaining social distancing (one-in, one-out rules, for instance) and hygiene.<\/p>\n
The average person needs to visit the loo about six to eight times a day \u2014 that\u2019s roughly 2,500 times a year<\/p>\n
But it appears this has not been universally heeded. In Aberdeen, the number of facilities has halved, while Gateshead in Tyne and Wear has culled them by nearly 80 per cent \u2013 leaving just ten in operation, compared with 46 at the start of the year.<\/p>\n
In Calderdale, West Yorkshire, there were 27, now there are six. The three remaining council-run facilities in Bolton have all closed, as has the single public loo in Luton.<\/p>\n
After highlighting this dereliction of duty, we were inundated with letters and emails from readers who had found themselves in distressing circumstances \u2013 older people, pregnant women, those with disabilities and parents alike.<\/p>\n
From Inverness to Lyme Regis, this frankly disgraceful problem stretches the length and breadth of the country.<\/p>\n
A number claimed there was not a single public toilet, or even one open in a cafe, in their town.<\/p>\n
Loo closures had left many stranded at home, battling isolation, unable to go out to exercise and, in some cases, even attend medical appointments.<\/p>\n
One reader, suffering from a bowel condition, said she\u2019d actually been barred from using the loo at her local GP surgery.<\/p>\n
![\"Facilities](\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2020\/10\/10\/15\/34229606-0-image-a-2_1602340441611.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Facilities have plummeted by more than a third in the past decade, and prior to all this the average council in England maintained just 15 public toilets per 125,000 residents<\/p>\n
\u2018I had been called to attend the flu clinic, and needed the toilet urgently but was refused.<\/p>\n
\u2018I was told to use the pub across the road but it was too late, and I had to go home, humiliated, tearful, and feeling shame sitting in the car next to my husband.\u2019<\/p>\n
Get in touch by email at health@mailonsunday.co.uk<\/span>.<\/p>\n In one heartbreaking email, a woman from West London explained that she\u2019d been unable to tend to her daughter\u2019s grave as the loos on the way there and at the cemetery were all still closed.<\/p>\n Many readers who once enjoyed simple things like walking found they\u2019d had to stop. \u2018I\u2019d like to live a normal life, but I can\u2019t because of lack of toilets,\u2019 was a typical line.<\/p>\n Some reported deliberately dehydrating themselves or taking medication to prevent accidents: \u2018I have diverticular [bowel] disease and irritable bowel syndrome,\u2019 wrote one woman. \u2018I wear pull-on incontinence pads most of the time, going out is really difficult and I take Imodium [medicine to treat diarrhoea] most days just so I can do my shopping.<\/p>\n \u2018I then have to take a laxative to empty my bowel.\u2019<\/p>\n Another wrote of her \u2018nightmare\u2019 situation: \u2018I have an adult son with a learning disability. We used to meet up for walks but can\u2019t now as there are no toilets open \u2013 even disabled loos are locked.\u2019<\/p>\n The problem, says Tom Riley, who runs website Lockdown Loo, a digital map of currently open toilets across the UK, may be getting worse, not better. He says they are getting reports every day from members of the public saying once-open loos are now shut.<\/p>\n Those with registered disabilities in many areas can apply for a RADAR key, which provides access to locked accessible toilets, but even these remain shut in many areas<\/p>\n Q Should shielders stop going outside again?<\/span><\/p>\n A No \u2013 most people who were told to shield originally will not be required to do so again.<\/p>\n Only a small number of vulnerable people, living in the most high-risk areas, may receive letters from their GPs advising them to follow shielding advice.<\/p>\n But the majority of Britons in the groups originally classified as vulnerable \u2013 the over-70s, cancer patients undergoing treatment such as chemotherapy and those living with chronic lung disease \u2013 do not now need to shield as they did during the early stages of lockdown. The Government says rules introduced since the spring, such as the Rule of Six and the widespread use of masks, have reduced the need for such restrictive shielding measures.<\/p>\n Q Is herd immunity the solution to all this?<\/span><\/p>\n A Last week a petition started by three highly respected scientists argued for what they deemed \u2018focused protection\u2019 \u2013 protecting the vulnerable, while allowing everyone else to return to normal, get infected and recover, resulting in \u2018herd immunity\u2019.<\/p>\n The scientists say that enough people will have developed an immune response to the virus to reduce the scale of infections sufficiently to protect the vulnerable.<\/p>\n But the theory detailed in the petition \u2013 called the Great Barrington Declaration \u2013 has since been widely criticised by a host of public health experts. Dr Michael Head, Senior Research Fellow in Global Health, University of Southampton, says that despite the hundreds of thousands of infections, only eight per cent of the population are estimated to have some level of immunity to Covid-19 and this will \u2018likely wane over time and be insufficient to prevent a second infection\u2019. \u2018Ultimately, the Barrington Declaration is based on principles that are dangerous to national and global public health,\u2019 he says.<\/p>\n Dr Head highlights that the declaration also ignores \u2018long Covid\u2019, whereby debilitating symptoms linger for months after infection. He says: \u2018We know that many people, even younger populations who suffered from an initially mild illness, are suffering from longer-term consequences of a Covid-19 infection.\u2019<\/p>\n \u2018Just yesterday, we were told that Portaloos that had been installed in one park, in Lambeth, South London, had been removed \u2013 but the toilet they were supposed to replace hadn\u2019t been reopened either,\u2019 he adds.<\/p>\n This is the same Lambeth Council \u2013 my borough, as it happens \u2013 that has employed \u2018park police\u2019 to issue \u00a3150 fines to anyone caught weeing against a tree, rather than hiring someone to do something useful, such as a cleaner to make sure more toilets remain open.<\/p>\n \u2018It feels like, in many areas, things are becoming more restrictive, rather than less,\u2019 Riley says.<\/p>\n \u2018I\u2019m guessing that, as lockdown measures get stricter again, councils are thinking they don\u2019t need loos any more, so are getting rid of them.\u2019<\/p>\n Some of the reasons given for closures seem absurd: \u2018The hand dryers are too close together,\u2019 a council worker declared to one reader, while another informed a pensioner that using the toilet at the local library was \u2018illegal\u2019.<\/p>\n A few weeks prior to my own close call, I\u2019d had a similarly frustrating dash back home while out with friend. The toilet in the cafe where we met was shut.<\/p>\n When I asked the waiter why, he pointedly said: \u2018Do you want us be put at risk?\u2019<\/p>\n What risk, I asked?<\/p>\n \u2018Err, the virus?\u2019 Came the reply, in a \u2018you must be a moron to even ask such a thing\u2019 kind of way. I\u2019m still baffled as to just what risk he believed he\u2019d be exposed to.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a maddening \u2018Covid-says-no\u2019 attitude that seems to be creeping into every aspect of life. And, of course, in terms of loos, pandemic \u2018restrictions\u2019 have also exacerbated an already dire problem.<\/p>\n Bob, from Thurrock pointed out: \u2018At present they do not have ANY public toilets in Thurrock. When McDonald\u2019s closed, pubs closed, restaurants closed and shopping centres closed, there were no options left. I wrote to our local MP, Jackie Doyle-Price, but she said that this was not in her remit \u2013 that it is Thurrock Council\u2019s decision.\u2019<\/p>\n But Ms Doyle-Price, I fear, is being disingenuous. As a former junior Health Minister, no less, she should know full well that local authorities are not legally required to provide toilets \u2013 and scores have closed as councils look to cut costs.<\/p>\n Facilities have plummeted by more than a third in the past decade, and prior to all this the average council in England maintained just 15 public toilets per 125,000 residents. Many of those that remain now charge. Fifty pence to spend a penny? Outrageous \u2013 but often there\u2019s little choice.<\/p>\n Businesses that provide facilities for their customers have no legal duty to do so for non-customers, although some turn a blind eye.<\/p>\n Charities and hospitals now provide cards for those who struggle to hold on because of medical conditions \u2013 so that you don\u2019t have to plead with a grumpy pub landlord or barista.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a maddening \u2018Covid-says-no\u2019 attitude that seems to be creeping into every aspect of life. Pandemic \u2018restrictions\u2019 have also exacerbated an already dire problem, writes Barney Calman<\/p>\n But having to brandish one of these is, of course, an embarrassment in itself. I\u2019m not the only person I know who\u2019s developed expert knowledge of the cheapest items in a bar or sandwich shop which, once purchased, allows access to their \u2018customers only\u2019 convenience. But it shouldn\u2019t be like this.<\/p>\n Those with registered disabilities in many areas can apply for a RADAR key, which provides access to locked accessible toilets, but even these remain shut in many areas, according to local newspaper reports.<\/p>\n If none of this has affected you, you\u2019re lucky, for a start. And you may feel this is the least of our worries right now.<\/p>\n So I\u2019ll leave you with this, from one reader in Hurley, Oxfordshire: \u2018When lockdown eased in August, we started visiting the Thames footpath for walks. The public toilets were closed and have remained so.<\/p>\n \u2018It\u2019s a beauty spot, and visitors come from far and wide, often with children \u2013 and now, people are defecating wherever they can find a spot. We were a civilised country. Stop this please!\u2019<\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Mrs A Martin, by email<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Gemma, by email<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Mandy Sigey, 59, London<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Anonymous, by email<\/span>\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Anonymous, by email<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0Gerald Barry, 65, Somerset<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Christine Price, 65, by email<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0Pamela Waller, 70, Orpington<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Janet, by email<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Liz Clark, 64, Aberdeen<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 R. Davies, by email<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Maureen Gallagher, 61, Glasgow<\/span>\u00a0<\/p>\n \n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A few weeks back, a friend of mine was almost caught short on the way to work. OK, it wasn\u2019t a friend, it was me. When I say almost, I mean I very nearly didn\u2019t make it. Of course, this isn\u2019t a subject I\u2019m thrilled to write about. But over the past few months, we\u2019ve Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-271325","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/271325","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=271325"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/271325\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=271325"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=271325"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=271325"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Those](\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2020\/10\/17\/16\/34229598-8826433-Alison_Reid_chief_executive_of_IBS_Network_the_UK_s_largest_char-a-2_1602947547689.jpg\")
<\/p>\nCovid QA:\u00a0Do I have to shield inside now and is the answer herd immunity?<\/h3>\n
![\"It\u00bfs](\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2020\/10\/10\/15\/34229602-0-image-a-3_1602340496424.jpg\")
<\/p>\nDesperation and distress\u2026 your views on the loo lockdown<\/h3>\n
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