Repository file
Capture — 1.5 metres
evidence/2020/one-point-five/source.md
From Can’t Explain Raw capture
Capture — 1.5 metres
- Claim filed: “To stop the spread, stay 1.5m from others.”
- Who: Australian Government text, endorsed by Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy
- URL: https://www.health.gov.au/ministers/the-hon-greg-hunt-mp/media/australian-government-text-message-regarding-coronavirus-prevention-steps
- Date on page: 25 March 2020
- Publisher: Department of Health (Greg Hunt media)
- Title: Australian Government text message regarding Coronavirus prevention steps
- Captured: 2026-08-14
- Method: saved HTML (
hunt-sms.html)
Verbatim
The 150-character SMS, endorsed by Professor Brendan Murphy:
Coronavirus Aus Gov msg: To stop the spread, stay 1.5m from others, follow rules on social gatherings, wash hands, stay home if sick.
Hunt’s longer list, same release:
Be at least 1.5 metres away from everyone and don’t gather with others
What the number was doing
1.5 m is a droplet rule: large drops fall. Aerosols do not respect a tape measure indoors. The SMS says “stop the spread,” not “reduce close-range spray.”
What this file does not do
It does not file “distance did nothing.” Crowding is a risk. It files the slide from a droplet heuristic to a hard line that would stop the spread.