New evidence shows how Covid can spread outdoors
To be inside is still much more risky, but a recent study discovers that being outdoors always has its dangers.
For months, the scientific community has largely agreed that coronavirus is most often spread of the person to the person, via droplets. That's why companies that can, such as restaurants, have been held out ofKeep guests outdoorsAnd why other indoor activities, such as concerts and karaoke, are always out of bounds in most places. In fact, for months,Anthony Fauci, MD, warned Americans who "outdoors is always better than inside. "And as long as it's always true, there is now evidence that show thatCovid can spread outdoors, too much. Read to find out how, and for more behaviors to avoid, consult theThings you do every day that put you at risk of Covid.
According to a recent study published in the newspaperEnvironmental research, certain atmospheric conditions can do thePropagation of coronavirus outside A probable event. By using meteorological data and reported case information from the city of New York from March to April, a computer model has been used to simulate expelled particles of a cough of an infected person or sneeze.
The results showed that when there was a combination ofwarmer or slightly cold air temperatures with low wind speed and low turbulence, the amount of time theThe virus could remain airborne radically increased. In some cases, it remained a float for 30 minutes and could travel up a mile.
"This work is additional evidence that outside air can not dilute the virus particles, and there are high evidence that spatial propagation between states is linked toAirborne transmission"Study authorKiran BhaganagarAssociate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Texas in San Antonio, said in a statement.
She also suggested that the recommendedsix feet for social distancing may not be enough To keep the virus propagating in public, saying that the use of masks even outside can be beneficial.
Previous research has also shown that moisture levels can affect COVID capacity to spread. In August, a study published in the newspaperCross-border and emerging diseasesfound there is a direct correlation with alower moisture and increased community transmission COVID-19. The results showed that a decrease of a percent relative humidity could increase the cases of covidation up to 8% and a 10% moisture drop would double the number of coronavirus cases in a given area. Another recent study published in the journalFluid physics found that potentially contaminated-covid air droplets can live up to 23 times longerhigh-humidity.
"When moisture is lower, the air is drier and the aerosols are smaller", the author of the first study,Michael district, PhD, an epidemiologist at the University of Sydney, said in a statement. "When you sneeze and cough, these smaller infectious aerosols can remain suspended in the air longer. This increases exposure to other people."
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Although many research has been made on the probability of spreading inside, there have been very few studies on its ability to do it outside. However, a study of Japan, which has not yet been examined by peers, has found that an infected patient was almost20 times more likely to spread the virus To someone else when they were inside opposite outside.
Nevertheless, other scientists emphasize that the occasion for Covid to spread outside might charge on several conditions. "Outside, things like sunlight, wind, rain, ambient temperature and humidity can affect the infectivity and transmissibility of the virus"Angela Rasmussen, MD, a virologist from Columbia University, "said Vox. "So duringWe can not say that there is a zero riskIt is likely that if you participate in activities as part of a large crowd, such as a protest. "
Other experts also warn thatOutdoor transmission is not so impossibleAs many believe it is. "I think people hear that it's outside and think everything is fine,"Linsey Marr, PhD, Professor of Engineering and Aerosol Scientist in Virginia Tech, saidThe New York TimesIn July outdoor gatherings. "But it should be outdoors with a distance. If you have an outdoor gathering with a lot of people speaking, you stand next. It's strong, then you talk louder." And that, of course, spread more droplets. And for more things, discover whyThe way the Americans speak can have made Covid so worse, according to science.
