Dr. Julian Tang, a virologist, said if you can smell someone’s breath, you’re too close
Britons should use the ‘garlic breathing distance’ measurement to find out if they are at risk of getting coronavirus, an expert said today.
Dr. Julian Tang, a virologist at Leicester University, warned that people were so close that the virus would jump between them if they could smell each other’s breath.
“The way this virus is transmitted is basically through conversation distance, within a meter,” he told Sky News.
When you talk to a friend or share the same air when you listen to your friend, we call this the garlic breathing distance.
“So if you can smell your friend’s lunch, you’re breathing in some of that air, as well as any virus that’s inhaled with it.”
Dr. Tang added that the government’s slogan ‘hands, face, space, fresh air’ conveys the wrong message about how the virus is spreading.
At the start of the pandemic, experts believed that the risk of becoming infected was mainly related to touching contaminated surfaces, such as ATMs and gas pumps.
But there is now evidence that the SARS-CoV-2 virus is airborne, with infected patients emitting infectious particles when they cough, sneeze, talk, or breathe.
Dr. Tang criticized No10’s official slogan when it was revealed last month and accused ministers of misinforming people about how the virus is spreading.
‘I don’t think the emphasis is right. So the message “hands, face, space,” we think should be “space, space, hands,” he said.
The virologist also echoed other experts who said lockdown had been the driving force behind the toppling of Covid cases and deaths.
“Right now, the lockdown is causing the main impact in terms of reducing the number of cases and deaths,” he said.
The rollout of vaccines is very fast and encouraging, but we will see that impact as soon as we start opening indoor spaces.
“If one or two people have antibodies, that immune barrier will reduce the spread of the virus in an indoor environment where the air ventilation is poorer and where people are close together, unmasked, and breathe the same air.”
Dr. Tang spoke after publishing an article in the British Medical Journal warning that the virus is mainly airborne.
He wrote that those infected with the virus emit tiny droplets laden with the virus, which can then be inhaled by humans from up to six feet away.
At the start of the pandemic, experts warned that Covid was mainly spread through fomites – clothing, utensils, and items likely to carry the virus.
They suggested that an infection could be caused by touching it and then placing a hand on the mouth, nose, or eyes.
But now evidence suggests the risk of this action is small – less than five in 10,000 according to a paper – and the US CDC says this is no longer the major transmission route.
Instead, scientists think the disease is mainly airborne, making it much more difficult to control.
The World Health Organization says that SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing the pandemic, is mainly spread through droplets released by sneezing, coughing and even talking.
The droplets, which contain saliva, mucus and other airway substances, including viruses, are larger than pure air particles.
After being freed from the body, they travel short distances before falling to the ground, which is why social distance is so crucial.
Some experts have also suggested that aerosols – lighter particles released in the breath and when someone is talking – are the main driver.
It is for this reason that scientists recommend that face masks are essential to block the spread of particles, meaning less is put into the atmosphere and can be picked up.
They add that indoor ventilation is essential to keep fresh air circulating and keep these droplets from building up.
It comes after other experts warned that smelling someone’s bad breath (halitosis) is a sign that more distance is needed to prevent transmission.
Professor Trish Greenhalgh, a primary care professional at the University of Oxford, warned in December that face masks should be worn when people are close together.
“In addition to” shared air “(usually an indoor risk), there is also the problem of being caught in the direct beam of an exhaled cloud of gas when someone coughs, speaks, sneezes, or just exhales,” she said.
“ If you’re close enough to feel their warm breath on you or smell their halitosis (bad breath), you probably even need a mask outdoors. ”