NY Times: Covid virus IS spread by aerosol

[Glamazoni]

NY Times reporting that airborne virus plays a significant role in transmission. Live virus has been identified in aerosols collected at a distance of 7 - 16 feet from Covid patients... further than the recommended social distancing. They are saying that social distancing doesn’t work indoors because an aerosol can fill a room in five minutes. Bad news for pubs, restaurants and schools.

www.nytimes.com/2020/08/11/health/coronavirus-aerosols-indoors.html

[CoffeeandCroissant]

Seems to be some scepticism about this though:
mobile.twitter.com/GermHunterMD/status/1293258295369588736

mobile.twitter.com/GermHunterMD/status/1292135685466411014

[SanctuaryPlease]

I don't give a flying toss anymore. Totally sick of this shitting way of life. I'd rather be dead, than live like this for much longer. Can t even watch a good tv drama or program as it just reminds me how screwed life is at the moment.

[Realitea]

I believe it lives for about 3 hours in a room where someone infected has been. As long as places are as ventilated as possible, that's all the hospitality industry can do. And what about large workplaces with mechanical ventilation or air conditioning? There's still a lot to learn about this.

[candycane222]

The advice I've seen from building scientists here and in the US is definitely keep windows open and/or turn up ventilation that supplies fresh air, as high as you can.

This is usually a good idea anyway from a health point of view - lots of other pollutants like formaldehyde ( from glues, chipboard furniture etc) and so on will be cleared faster from the air, too.

Recirculation systems like aircon are potentially more problematic - definitely plenty still to learn as Realitea says

[Cuddling57]

It just seems common sense.
There's around ten people in my office for 8 hours a day. If one of them has it it's highly likely we could all possibly catch it through the air in the winter when all windows will be shut and the heating will be on. I don't think sitting 2metres away will stop it.

[candycane222]

I agree

[frasersmummy]

So what do you suggest op?? We need to up the social distance to 20 ft??

[Qasd]

Umm but what about the large number of households where one person got it and they all didn’t. I have a friend who lived in a house isolated with a husband with covid for two weeks yet did not seem to get it yet you get it if you go into a room that someone with covid was in three hours before you get it?..there is still a lot to learn but I am I cannot see how a disease with an r number of 3 spreads that easily, measles has an r rating of 13 which is more common when spread as an aresol

[onlinelinda]

Were they tested? 80% people asymptomatic.

[Bellebelle]

I’ve heard of a couple of instances like what you’ve described above. Could be the seemingly uninfected person had it first, was asymptomatic but passed it to the person who got ill. By the time a test is carried out on the ‘well’ person they’ve cleared the virus so the test is negative.

There’s also a possibility that some people have a natural immunity to the virus, as you say, so much we still don’t know. I feel like I’m 5 years time we will be looking at a long list of everything people thought was correct in these early days of the pandemic ticking off what we were right about and crossing out what was completely wrong.

[Qasd]

No and yes possible just no symptoms but there do seem to be a lot of cases where not everyone in a house gets it which given quarantine and therefore continued very close quarters either mean a lot without symptoms or a lot who did not catch it in household situations (when social distancing not required or expected).

[onedayinthefuture]

I've also heard it can be spread by farts which is really worrying seeing as most people let off silent ones.

[Bellebelle]

@onedayinthefuture 😂😂😂

[askmehowiknow]

Do masks are totally pointless then if the virus is airborne. SD is totally pointless.

Why are we doing them again?

[Redolent]

@Qasd

Umm but what about the large number of households where one person got it and they all didn’t. I have a friend who lived in a house isolated with a husband with covid for two weeks yet did not seem to get it yet you get it if you go into a room that someone with covid was in three hours before you get it?..there is still a lot to learn but I am I cannot see how a disease with an r number of 3 spreads that easily, measles has an r rating of 13 which is more common when spread as an aresol

It's pretty clear at this point that not all people, even in the same age group, are equally affected. Some people may be immune due to some previous infection that provided antibodies, it may be genetic, it may be Vitamin D, we're not sure. But there is a such a wide range of effect, from dead in a couple days to completely asymptomatic...

[candycane222]

I don't think masks ars pointless at all. No-one is saying it's only aerosol spread,afaik. Big droplets, lots of virus, caught by the mask, unlikely to stay afloat across a 'social distance' gap; also tiny floating droplets, less virus in each but they linger for hours, so you can breathe in as much if you're in 'infected' air for long enough; numbers greatly reduced if you are in the open air so there is far more space to dilute them and breezes to blow them away;indoors it is well worth replacing indoor air constantly with fresh air from outside. We exhale a range of droplet sizes, it's worth using measures to address them all.

[SodomyNonSapiens]

I'd have been very surprised if it wasn't airborne,
Distancing useful as the concentration reduces the further away you are.
I suspect those of us that have inhaled small amounts and have a healthy immune system, along with young people who mainly get it mildly or asymptomatically are the ones building the herd immunity which is the only long term solution (immunisation will add to the herd immunity, I very much doubt it will replace it)

[RiaRoth]

@askmehowiknow

Do masks are totally pointless then if the virus is airborne. SD is totally pointless.

Why are we doing them again?

There is more point to masks if it is airbourne.

[Barbie222]

I would be more surprised if it wasn't airborne.

[SengaStrawberry]

[quote Glamazoni]NY Times reporting that airborne virus plays a significant role in transmission. Live virus has been identified in aerosols collected at a distance of 7 - 16 feet from Covid patients... further than the recommended social distancing. They are saying that social distancing doesn’t work indoors because an aerosol can fill a room in five minutes. Bad news for pubs, restaurants and schools.

www.nytimes.com/2020/08/11/health/coronavirus-aerosols-indoors.html[/quote]
Funny then that the opening of pubs and restaurants with social distancing seems to have (generally) gone Ok. I must admit I’m sceptical because if were the case shops would be dangerous as well. I’m starting to think that some people won’t be happy unless we’re locked down for years and society and the economy has completely disintegrated.

[Realitea]

It does seem strange that restaurants, pubs, gyms, etc have all been open and we haven't seen a sharp rise in cases. They do have some risk but if it were airborne, then all the shop workers, hospitality workers, many more people would be getting ill by now.

I'm still undecided about whether its safe to go to these places yet and stay outdoors as much as I can if I stop for food / a drink

[wintertravel1980]

The fact that some traces of COVID can be identified in aerosols does not mean that the quantity would be sufficient to actually infect people. The same holds true for fomite transmissions - while COVID can survive on surfaces for up to 72 hours, in practice, the risk of surface transmission is actually low.

[onlinelinda]

A medical student in England told me it was definitely airborne on April.

[onlinelinda]

In

[MarcelineMissouri]

I think the thing to remember here is that it is quite possible (and indeed probable) for the virus to be airborne, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that this route has a big part to play in transmission.