Page 2 | Chances of catching covid if you have your windows down in the car?

Duckfinger · 20/06/2020 17:58

I would think absolutely zero, unless of course you have a passenger who has covid in which case a bit more than zero ( not sure what as depending on what you drive you might have a reasonable distance between you) whether your windows are open or closed.

Xenia · 20/06/2020 18:06

I tend to close the window when I go into crowded areas just to be on the safe side as you might get some nutter cycle by and spit on your face.

Roomba · 20/06/2020 18:09

My mother has gone from 'It's just flu' and being pissed off I wouldn't go for Mother's Day when I had a high temp, to refusing to open the windows of her own house in case she catches the virus!

So yes, people are this worried. The general public have no idea at all how to estimate risk from statistical data. Whether they were never taught this skill or they've lost it, I don't know.

EnlightenedOwl · 20/06/2020 18:11

@Greenbutterlfy566

What are the chances of catching covid if you have your car windows down?

Ie: passing people on the road and other cars ahead of you with their windows down?

Is this a serious question. I hope not

cologne4711 · 20/06/2020 18:12

Probably a lot less than a wasp flying in and stinging you

This - and we're not quite into wasp hassling/stinging season yet.

mamma2016 · 20/06/2020 18:13

Of course they want windows up at test centres! All the people visiting have covid symptoms!!!

cologne4711 · 20/06/2020 18:15

The general public have no idea at all how to estimate risk from statistical data. Whether they were never taught this skill or they've lost it, I don't know

I blame that stupid meme that was doing the rounds on Facebook (a friend circulated it and she is a health worker!) which had the stylised covid virus floating around in the air and said "would you go out if you could see it", making it look like radioactive molecules in the street.

IcedPurple · 20/06/2020 18:25

So yes, people are this worried. The general public have no idea at all how to estimate risk from statistical data. Whether they were never taught this skill or they've lost it, I don't know

I'm not sure if it's about being 'taught a skill'. It's just that the human brain is very bad at assessing risk. It seems to be based more on emotion rather than logic, which is why two people who are at the exact same statistical risk of something will assess this risk in very different ways.

As regards the OP, I wasn't sure if it was a parody or not the first time I read it. I could maybe have understood it 3 months ago, but are people really worried about such matters at this point in proceedings?

ElinoristhenewEnid · 20/06/2020 18:56

I know someone who complained that cars were not queuing 2 metres apart to get onto a car park/ refuse site etc!

CathyComesHome · 20/06/2020 18:58

I tend to close the window when I go into crowded areas just to be on the safe side as you might get some nutter cycle by and spit on your face.

I think you might have just out Xenia’d yourself.

Twattergy · 20/06/2020 19:09

If it makes you feel any better OP my husband spent 2.5 hours in a car with a friend who 24 hours later was ill with Covid (tested positive). Husband did not get it. (Or may have, but would have been 100% asymptomatic). The windows were closed btw.

PleasantVille · 20/06/2020 19:14

@Twattergy

If it makes you feel any better OP my husband spent 2.5 hours in a car with a friend who 24 hours later was ill with Covid (tested positive). Husband did not get it. (Or may have, but would have been 100% asymptomatic). The windows were closed btw.

Good news for your husband but irrelevant to anyone else. Your chance of catching something surprisingly isn't related to whether someone else caught it in a totally different situation, that's totally bonkers.

sackcummings · 20/06/2020 19:19

If you were stuck in traffic with the windows down and pedestrians walked by they could conceivably infect you.

Poetryinaction · 20/06/2020 19:19

None

TheSultanofPingu · 20/06/2020 19:24

Cathy

Duckfinger · 21/06/2020 10:20

If you were stuck in traffic with the windows down and pedestrians walked by they could conceivably infect you.

Extremely unlikely, it has been reported that it is close contact not fleeting passing by that pass the virus.

I know that this coronavirus is deadly but it is passed on in similar ways to a common cold caused by a different coronavirus.
So you wouldn't catch a cold from walking past someone with a snotty nose at whatever distance. But if that person coughed or sneezed around the time you walked past there is a low chance you might. If you stood next to that person having a chat close enough to smell their breath for 10/15 minutes you probably would get it. If you had cuddle with that person you would probably get it. If that person sneezed coughed on you you would almost definitely get it.
Its a matter of following the distancing rules but things outside of them using a bit of common sense.

lootsharks · 21/06/2020 10:36

If you have your windows closed remember to set the air to recirculate and not bring air in from outside.
I drive to work with my windows down, that said it's on small rural roads and the biggest issue is the smell from the cows.

FluffyKittensinabasket · 21/06/2020 10:40

I have an classic Mini. No air con. In the hot weather so I die from the heat or open the windows and get CV?

🤷🏻‍♀️

raviolidreaming · 21/06/2020 10:42

If you have your windows closed remember to set the air to recirculate and not bring air in from outside

No. Just no. The actual air is not a risk.

Mummytime1 · 21/06/2020 10:56

Really...? Just really???

I think I am more worried about walking around with lunatics then walking around and catching coronavirus

vodkaredbullgirl · 21/06/2020 11:02

lootsharks · 21/06/2020 11:50

@raviolidreaming

If you have your windows closed remember to set the air to recirculate and not bring air in from outside

No. Just no. The actual air is not a risk.

I know...but if somebody is worried about having their windows open (I'm not, I always have them open) they presumably don't want to bring fresh air in either.

Bluntness100 · 21/06/2020 11:55

There was also a thread where someone was worried that it could come in via their house windows so were scared to open them. Someone responded and said they were worried the rain spread it.

I think some folks have significant anxiety but don’t take the time to read the data or understand it, they just panic.

The worst was the female police officer who went viral telling a couple to go in their house out their garden, as “the virus didn’t stop at their garden” so she clearly thought it was floating about in the air like smog too.

🤷‍♀️

lootsharks · 21/06/2020 11:57

About the only thing rain makes worse is hay fever isn't it?

SunbathingDragon · 21/06/2020 11:58

@Bluntness100

There was also a thread where someone was worried that it could come in via their house windows so were scared to open them. Someone responded and said they were worried the rain spread it.

I think some folks have significant anxiety but don’t take the time to read the data or understand it, they just panic.

The worst was the female police officer who went viral telling a couple to go in their house out their garden, as “the virus didn’t stop at their garden” so she clearly thought it was floating about in the air like smog too.

🤷‍♀️

I wonder if the house windows was due to the most vulnerable in the country being told to stay in with their windows closed. Possibly because it was easier to have one generic rule as some people have windows that open straight onto a pavement even though others have over an acre of private land before anyone can get near their windows!