- Most coronavirus infections occur when someone is within 6 feet of someone with COVID-19.
- Indoor gatherings remain risky, even when people are at a social distance, as droplets linger longer in the air with poor ventilation.
- The US vaccination effort needs to be stepped up to stop the spread of a more contagious and resilient COVID strain from South Africa.
Much of what we know, or thought we know, about the coronavirus has changed in recent months. This is, of course, to be expected, as health experts and researchers were initially confused by how the coronavirus manifested itself in patients and how it spread so quickly.
Now that we’ve been in the pandemic for nearly a year, health experts have a much better idea of how the coronavirus is spreading and, in turn, what can be done to reduce the chances of transmission. Suffice it to say that endless washing of your counter tops and disinfecting your home, while important, does not indicate how most people are likely to have come into contact with COVID-19.
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According to the CDC, COVID-19 spreads most easily when a COVID-19 positive person is close to another person. And since transmission usually takes place through breath drops, common activities such as laughing, talking, or even breathing heavily can increase the likelihood of transmission. Indeed, heavy breathing is exactly why an activity like going to the gym can be particularly risky.
The CDC below lists how COVID-19 typically spreads between two people:
- People who are physically close (within 6 feet) to a person with COVID-19 or have direct contact with that person are most at risk of infection.
- When people with COVID-19 cough, sneeze, sing, talk, or breathe, they produce respiratory droplets. These droplets can range in size from larger droplets (some of which are visible) to smaller droplets. Small droplets can also form particles if they dry very quickly in the air stream.
- Infections mainly occur from exposure to respiratory drops when a person is in close contact with someone who has COVID-19.
- Breathing drops cause infection when they are inhaled or deposited on mucous membranes, such as those lining the nose and mouth.
- As the respiratory drops travel further from the person with COVID-19, the concentration of these drops decreases. Gravity causes larger droplets to fall from the sky. Smaller droplets and particles spread out in the air.
By the way, one reason a COVID-19 infection is more likely in winter is because droplets tend to linger in the air longer in colder and drier air environments.
The CDC adds that airborne transmission of COVID-19 is a risk for transmission, even if people adhere to social distance guidelines. Although less common than direct person-to-person transmission, the CDC writes that these transfers usually take place in closed spaces with inadequate ventilation.
Under these circumstances, scientists believe that the amount of infectious smaller droplets and particles produced by the people with COVID-19 became concentrated enough to spread the virus to other people. The people infected were in the same room at the same time or shortly after the person with COVID-19 left.
Indeed, this is why indoor gatherings are particularly risky, even when people remain socially distant. To date, the US has seen 26.4 million coronavirus infections and 446,643 COVID-related deaths.
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A lifelong Mac user and enthusiast, Yoni Heisler has been writing about Apple and the tech industry in general for over six years. His writing has appeared in Edible Apple, Network World, MacLife, Macworld UK and most recently in TUAW. When not writing about and analyzing the latest happenings with Apple, Yoni enjoys watching Improv shows in Chicago, playing soccer and cultivating new addiction to TV shows, most recently The Walking Dead and Broad City.