The 'Need' to Exercise in a Covid-19 World

It seems likely that the UK will eventually close off the possibility of taking daily exercise in parks and public spaces, in spite of recently arguing that being a 'couch potato' is costly to the NHS in terms of physical and mental health (https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2020/apr/07/closing-uk-parks-and-public-spaces-tipping-point-coronavirus-covid-19). Different people, of course, have different situations (ranging from a basement gym to no garden) and the curtailing of exercise will be of most detriment to the poorest in our communities. I must agree with the writer of the above article that poor folk (as well as the elderly) are most likely to find it difficult to re-engage in the event of such a ban being lifted. My own recent experience is that people out taking exercise are generally very considerate in terms of 'social spacing' and often choose times of day when people on their route are sparse. They are also 'friendly from a distance', which is a helpful form of pseudo-contact for people living on their own. Some people also just need to get out occasionally. Personally speaking, my daily jog is the high-light of my current day. I would be devastated to lose it!