Really clear explanation to how Covid spreads in schools, restaurants and at home and the effect of different prevention measures

[bumblingbovine49]

english.elpais.com/society/2020-10-28/a-room-a-bar-and-a-class-how-the-coronavirus-is-spread-through-the-air.html

I found the school one particularly interesting.

So it turns out facing the teacher in forward facing rows probably isn't a great idea.

Really interesting - thanks for posting

I think this article is interesting but also is really clear about the spread and wheres and whys.

So it turns out facing the teacher in forward facing rows probably isn't a great idea.

But the article states;

"it has been noted that any of the students could become infected irrespective of their proximity to the teacher as the aerosols are distributed randomly around the unventilated room."

We're fucked

I sit in an unventilated office for 8 hours per day (but it's ok apparently as we are all more thn 2m apart

My dd spends all day in a dance studio with teacher's who are talking loudly over the music

My dh spends all day in a music classroom, sometimes unventilated in which case he does written work or if there is a window he has 15 students singing at him.

That's really interesting, thank you. My classes are 3 hours long, half my students wear masks and I wear a visor. I thought the biggest risk was touching surfaces, being too close to students - hands, face, space! But it seems the biggest key is air ventilation plus masks for all.

plus masks for all

Compulsory masks for teachers worth a try certainly;

"Schools only account for 6% of coronavirus outbreaks recorded by Spanish health authorities. The dynamics of transmission via aerosols in the classroom change completely depending on whether the infected person–or patient zero–is a student or a teacher. Teachers talk far more than students and raise their voices to be heard, which multiplies the expulsion of potentially contagious particles. In comparison, an infected student will only speak occasionally. According to the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) guidelines, the Spanish government has recommended that classrooms be ventilated–even though this may cause discomfort in the colder months–or for ventilation units to be used."

In comparison, an infected student will only speak occasionally.

That would be good!

Depends on age I guess.

Why are school outbreaks 6% of all outbreaks in Spain but 30-ish % here? Would be interested to know why that is.

Why does wearing masks have less effect in a private house than in the other settings?

I've seen this shared and it seems misleading to me. It suggests that everyone will get infected in some scenarios when we know people share households without taking any special measures and avoid passing it on.

Yes I do wonder about its credibility. Could be wrong.

Length of time and volume/amount of speech in the private house.

If you are all sitting 2m apart in a living room with the window open watching TV (not speaking) the transmission will be less than sitting in a bar with no ventilation talking loudly over the music.

But for the same length of time do we really collectively talk less in a restaurant

Or more quietly? Not my experience at all

Isn't it that when no-one is watching at home people don't really sit 2m apart or wear their masks properly?
I know I do get more lax with family in their own homes. I perceive them as less a threat than a stranger although I shouldn't as their kids go to school too.

Or maybe that at home surfaces are not cleaned so rigorously and harbour infection and people don't abide so well by hand washing/sanitiser? Contaminated surfaces are still a source as well as airborne/ droplet.

Those things would make sense. That said isn't there just something about the number of people - how can it be riskier to sit in a lounge with my parents than a little further away than a room full of strangers?

I’ve just been reading this in the Guardian about aerosol transmission. Interesting.

www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/oct/28/understanding-aerosol-transmission-key-controlling-coronavirus-wash-hands?utm_term=a8f7e94d6ee9ca8bb02d684d7bc78575&utm_campaign=GuardianTodayUK&utm_source=esp&utm_medium=Email&CMP=GTUK_email

My husband teaches singing so he has been reading a lot about aerosol transmission research. He is very concerned.

I really don't know how they are justified in not making masks compulsory in classrooms. It seems like madness to me. The reason is it's 'disruptive to learning' but that seems much less important to me than taking an effective measure to reduce spread (after all having a bubble burst and especially infecting the teacher will disrupt learning a whole lot more)

That choir outbreak is terrifying
Singing really does not seem like a safe activity unless it's outside
I mean how can you sing in a mask?

I mean I thought the latest theory was some people are superspreaders and some don't spread it at all?

Which is why you get cases like the choir where one event causes lots of infections and cases where people share a bed with their partner but only one gets ill.

This is really good!
So according to this in schools
Classrooms ventilated at all times.
Try to stop the lesson and go out (or at least open doors and windows wide) every hour.
Wear masks as much as possible
And
Cut down on teacher talk/activities that involve a lot of talking, shouting, chanting or singing.

I appreciate that not everybody can put these into action but some people (including our school) will be able to do this is useful

@StealthPolarBear

Yes I do wonder about its credibility. Could be wrong.

This is what a virologist thinks of it:

"This is perfect."
"What a masterful piece of #aerosol communication."
"This page takes all the complexity of this vitally important topic, & renders it understandable & accessible to the wider public. It gives us all control of over what we do & why."
mobile.twitter.com/MackayIM/status/1321609930382585856

And a doctor (at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, primary interest is in understanding how we stop emerging infectious disease epidemics.):
"The graphics in this article are excellent— this is a huge part of communications that has been missing. If you want to understand how layered interventions reduce #covid19 spread— why masks are indispensable but not always “enough” — read this. "
mobile.twitter.com/AbraarKaran/status/1321597322472558593

It tickled me to read that the teacher will be the one doing most of the talking/ shouting. Not in secondary they won’t. I wonder whether the person who modelled this has been in a classroom recently?

Additionally, last week we were in lessons with the windows and doors open and it was freezing. I mean, so cold my wrists and hands ached and I could barely use the keyboard or mouse if my computer. The class were LOUDLY complaining and more challenging learners kept getting out of their seats to close the windows, to which I’d then have to get out of my designated area to open them again. They was very little work accomplished as pupils were either trying to huddle together or were overly lethargic. You can not work or be productive when you are distracted by the cold.

Since being on half-term, the school has been informed of 5 members of staff from different departments, who have now tested positive. We have chosen not to publicise this and to leave it to track and trace, who say there shouldn’t be a problem as teachers are required to be 2m from students anyway. 😂