Hands, face, space? Johnson's Covid message has got priorities wrong, scientists warn
www.theguardian.com/world/2020/sep/19/scientists-criticise-uks-hands-face-space-campaign-to-control-covid-19-coronavirus
The latest drive to help halt the spread of Covid-19 has been criticised by senior scientists for placing insufficient emphasis on the issues of ventilation and the need to stay apart from others.
They say the government’s “hands, face, space” campaign stresses handwashing and the wearing of masks as key factors in controlling coronavirus transmission,
while the need to keep apart has been downplayed, despite it being the single critical factor involved in the spread of Covid-19.
“As long as people keep emphasising handwashing over aerosol transmission and ventilationn*, you are not going to control this pandemic,”
virologist Julian Tang, of Leicester Royal Infirmary, told the Observer.
He pointed to studies that suggest contact is the cause of transmission of the Covid-19 virus in only about 20% of cases
while aerosol transmission, often in poorly ventilated rooms, accounted for the rest.
< in Germany I've heard estimaates that only 10% of infections are from surfaces of any kind >
He was backed by the anthropologist Jennifer Cole, at Royal Holloway, University of London, who said
the government’s recommendations had been placed in the wrong order.
“Space is the largest mitigating factor in the spread of Covid-19, indoors or outdoors.
Wearing a face covering does not make it entirely safe to go within 2 metres of others;
keeping your distance is still the best strategy,”
she said.
“Handwashing is important, but surface transmission plays a much smaller role than exhaled droplets,
so it is odd that ‘hands’ has been listed first.”