- Most coronavirus infections occur when someone is about 30 meters away from someone who has COVID-19.
- Indoor gatherings, even when people are socially distanced, remain risky because the drops stay in the air longer when there is poor ventilation.
- Vaccination efforts in the US need to be stepped up to combat the spread of a more contagious and resistant COVID strain in South Africa.
Many of what we know or thought we know about coronavirus have changed in recent months. Of course, this is to be expected, given that health experts and researchers were initially flummoxed by how the coronavirus manifested in patients and how it managed to spread so quickly.
Now that we are almost a year away from the pandemic, health experts have a much firmer view of how the coronavirus is spreading and, in turn, what can be done to reduce the likelihood of transmission. Suffice it to say that washing your countertops endlessly and disinfecting your home, while important, does not address how most people have probably come into contact with COVID-19.
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According to the CDC, COVID-19 spreads most easily when a positive person COVID-19 sits in close proximity to another person. And seeing as transmission usually takes place through respiratory drops, common activities such as laughter, speech or even intense breathing can increase the likelihood of transmission. Indeed, heavy breathing is precisely why an activity such as going to the gym can be particularly risky.
The CDC below details how COVID-19 usually spreads between two people:
- People who are physically close (less than 6 feet) to a person with COVID-19 or who have direct contact with that person have the highest risk of infection.
- When people with COVID-19 cough, sneeze, sing, talk or breathe, they produce breathing drops. These drops can range in size from larger drops (some of which are visible) to smaller drops. Small droplets can also form particles when they dry very quickly in the air flow.
- Infections occur mainly through exposure to respiratory drops when a person is in close contact with someone who has COVID-19.
- Respiratory drops cause infections when inhaled or deposited on mucous membranes, such as those that cover the inside of the nose and mouth.
- As the respiratory droplets move away from the person with COVID-19, the concentration of these droplets decreases. Larger drops fall from the air due to gravity. Drops and smaller particles spread in the air.
In fact, one of the reasons why a COVID-19 infection is more likely in the winter is that the drops tend to stay in the air longer in colder, drier air environments.
The CDC adds that airborne transmission of COVID-19 is a risk of transmission even when people follow the guidelines of social distancing. Although less frequent than direct person-to-person transmission, the CDC writes that these transmissions typically occur indoors with insufficient ventilation.
Under these conditions, scientists believe that the amount of smaller infectious drops and particles produced by people with COVID-19 has become concentrated enough to spread the virus to others. Infected people were in the same space at the same time or shortly after the person with COVID-19 had left.
Indeed, this is why indoor gatherings are particularly risky, even if people remain socially distant. To date, the United States has recorded 26.4 million coronavirus infections and 446,643 COVID-related deaths.
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A lifelong Mac user and passionate about Apple, Yoni Heisler has been writing about Apple and the technology industry in general for over 6 years. His writings have appeared in Edible Apple, Network World, MacLife, Macworld UK and, most recently, TUAW. When not writing about and analyzing the latest developments with Apple, Yoni enjoys catching Improv shows in Chicago, playing football and cultivating new addictions to TV shows, the latest examples being The Walking Dead and Broad City.