Can someone explain transmission

[Colbs]

Hi

Is someone please able to explain how Covid is transmitted?

It was my understanding that it spreads if you’re in close contact with a positive case ie within 2 meters for a prolonged period of time.

I’ve invited my friend over for dinner next weekend and she’s turned down the offer unless we sit outside.

We can’t sit outside as I’m currently having work done in the garden.

She has asked that we keep our distance indoors and keep all windows open.

She’s also asked that if I get up and move around I wear a mask

I know about ventilation but surely if I’m sat 2 meters away from my friend I’m of no risk to her (if I even had Covid)

I’m starting to think I actually don’t know much about transmission and she knows more than I do.

I’ve had a quick Google and there’s suggestions it’s air borne. What exactly does this mean?

@bonbonours

I thought it was widely understood to be airborne, I'm quite amazed thus is news to anyone. The 2 metre thing is bollocks really. If you are sharing an enclosed, unventilated space with someone for a prolonged period of time (more than 15 mins) you are obviously breathing the same air. Opening windows is probably the easiest and most helpful thing you can do to reduce risk.

This is what I understand to be the current available info about the virus too. (There's obviously a lot the scientists don't yet know.)

Op , you sound like a good friend. I think a request for the windows to be open is fine. The mask wearing is a bit more extreme. But your friend had lost her mother to Covid and so logic doesn't really apply here does it? Why not suggest you meet for a meal in a pub garden, where she can feel more at ease. Take the worry away

Well she's asking for the kind of scenario she would have experienced in any restaurant over recent months. I don't suppose there is any other rationale to her thinking.

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but I’m finding it hard to understand if she’s just really struggling with things or if there’s logic to there.

Why? What difference would this make? She's lost her mother to Covid and she is scared. As a friend, dont you want to do all you can to alleviate that worry?

@BitterTits but all work places and schools are or should be having as much fresh air as possible (open windows at all times etc), masks and distancing which does still help. All this still applies in many places.
Schools should have all had open windows etc all winter in line with the guidance. The schools guidance was very clear

Airborne means that if you sit in the same room, no matter if you’re more than 2m away it fills the entire room.
She’s lost her mum to it, of course she is going to be cautious, some people are vile.
If she’s coming to your house and you have covid, you will have filled every room walking through with virus, hanging in the air for 30mins. Other ways to catch it are one single hug, or a few seconds of conversation face to face within 1m or spending a few mins in a car whatever seat.
Some people can lick someone with covid and be fine, others will catch it from being in the same restaurant. It sucks but it’s a bitch of a virus.

Be nice to your friend and do whatever makes her feel comfortable, her mum died of it FFS.

[quote Eatenpig]@BitterTits but all work places and schools are or should be having as much fresh air as possible (open windows at all times etc), masks and distancing which does still help. All this still applies in many places.
Schools should have all had open windows etc all winter in line with the guidance. The schools guidance was very clear [/quote]
Yes but it's nothing like that in practice, for practical and behavioural reasons.

I know that there is nowhere I'm more at risk than in my classroom and therefore I have no problem with any social or private setting. Clearly, someone who can't even be in a friend's home without stringent social distancing measures in place isn't operating in the real world. It's very strange at this point.

@WetBench

Airborne means that if you sit in the same room, no matter if you’re more than 2m away it fills the entire room. She’s lost her mum to it, of course she is going to be cautious, some people are vile. If she’s coming to your house and you have covid, you will have filled every room walking through with virus, hanging in the air for 30mins. Other ways to catch it are one single hug, or a few seconds of conversation face to face within 1m or spending a few mins in a car whatever seat. Some people can lick someone with covid and be fine, others will catch it from being in the same restaurant. It sucks but it’s a bitch of a virus.

Be nice to your friend and do whatever makes her feel comfortable, her mum died of it FFS.

Really good post. I know people at all ends of the spectrum and have decided just to run with it to see mates. I have family members who weren't too worried until one who is age 30 with several kids was in hospital for a ten days. They are now obviously very cautious..

@BitterTits all classrooms at least should have open windows and doors. Allows a draught. Not ideal but better than covid.

@user1471518104

My god. I dread to think what the effects on society will be for decades because of this

Why don't you just tell your friend to fuck off ?

You seriously need help.

The 2 metre rule is complete rubbish, especially now with Delta, where people can harbour 1000 times the viral load of the original virus. It’s airborne, it’s very easy to get infected with any sort of time spent in an enclosed space with an infected person.

OP it’s better to think of it more in terms of smoke. If you stood 2 metres from a smoker you’d still inhale smoke. And the more enclosed the space and the longer you stayed with them the more contaminated the air would become.

Well you can still have a level of risk you feel comfortable with even if there are parts of your life you cant control. Eg. DH has to work in a very small room with multiple people for work but finds it b stressful and is v cautious outside of work for various reasons.

@Athinginitself

Well you can still have a level of risk you feel comfortable with even if there are parts of your life you cant control. Eg. DH has to work in a very small room with multiple people for work but finds it b stressful and is v cautious outside of work for various reasons.

Sorry that was in response to @BitterTits but didnt quote!

I know that there is nowhere I'm more at risk than in my classroom and therefore I have no problem with any social or private setting. Clearly, someone who can't even be in a friend's home without stringent social distancing measures in place isn't operating in the real world. It's very strange at this point.

@BitterTits You are making many assumptions about OP's friend and what she may have been doing over the past 20 months or so. You know nothing about her - as you know nothing about people you believe have hidden away in their homes and not worked in the "real world", like you. You've repeated this several times now. Do you want a medal? Here it is: 🥇

She is right about the fact that being in any indoor space for a period of time is a chance to catch covid if the others there are infected. Ventilation helps, ideally the kind that will make the air circulate so windows open on both sides of the house for example.

Whether she's overly cautious or not is another matter. The fact you're both double vaccinated massively reduces the risk of you having and passing covid on to each other. Doesn't mean it's a 0% risk though and ultimately it's her decision. Officially restrictions may have ended but covid has not gone anywhere and can still be a nasty disease even for someone vaccinated. Maybe she's thinking currently some things are worth the risk and some aren't, especially if there are easy alternatives like eating outdoors while the weather is good.

It’s all about deciding what we all do and what we are comfortable doing. I’ve only eaten inside a pub once recently and then it was next to a door and there were no tables near us. Generally we have eaten outside and when we’ve met friends and family, again we’ve stayed outside.

Why don’t you start by seeing your friend for a coffee/lunch outside pub/cafe.

Obviously if you are 2m away you are less likely to catch it than if someone is breathing in your face but that doesn't mean you definitely won't catch it, especially if you are there for hours. People seem to really struggle with the idea that these rules, masks etc are designed to minimize spread not eliminate it.

Your friend is being perfectly sensible if she is trying to avoid catching Covid.

We are only just double vaccinated and are just starting to get back to normal. I haven't been in anyone's house yet but I'm sure I will soon. I will feel very, very anxious about it, but am resigned to catch Covid because I have a child in nursery. Some people have had a really tough time, especially those who've lost close family, and it will take them some time to feel comfortable in normal situations again.

The 'sterile bubbles' that some of us lived in stopped cases and deaths getting even higher than they already were.

Sounds like you'd be better off outside in your garden even if it's a building site, or in a park. You can't blame her for wanting to avoid a virus that killed her mum.

I think your friend is pretty reasonable. Some people do extreme sports, some people don’t want to work at height or whatever because of risk. Different risks mean different things to different people - some people are more comfortable with risk of breaking a bone compared to getting covid.

Airborne transmission is hard to track. As someone said - I imagine it like smoke or cooking fumes. In order to reduce the concentration that you breathe in a smell, you open the windows, turn on a fan, stay far apart.

It’s nice that you’re doing this for your friend. I’m single vaccinated currently as I am pregnant and waited til 20weeks to get jab. I am asking partially vaccinated relatives from abroad to do this when I visit them. My baseline risk is low as I am lucky to wfh and have few contacts - so increase in risk would make a difference to me and baby. I wouldn’t be offended if they declined my visit though - as I’d just video call them or something.

@Goodallsfolly

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but I’m finding it hard to understand if she’s just really struggling with things or if there’s logic to there.

Why? What difference would this make? She's lost her mother to Covid and she is scared. As a friend, dont you want to do all you can to alleviate that worry?

@Goodallsfolly

Of course ☺️

Yes my friends mum passed away from Covid, im going everything I can to help her.
My friend is struggling massively, it’s awful to see.

She won’t work in the office, she won’t go to shops or supermarkets, she’s literally housebound.
It’s taking a huge effect on her young daughter.

I’m just trying to find ways to help my friend because it’s absolutely heartbreaking seeing the effect that this is all having on her.

She just lost her mum and us terrified she will die too and leave her daughter without a mum.

I can understand that. And she probably won’t have had counselling as half the world is in the queue before her.

She clearly feels outside is safer than inside. Why not both pack picnics and head to somewhere outside where it’s quiet. Not the local overcrowded park. Unless you go early.

This outing may help her begin to get her confidence back. She should be able to take her child outdoors. It’s good for us. No risk at all if you stay away from people.

The whole 2m thing was invented like the 20 second hand washing thing to try and help people with no common sense be safe. Its helped us stay safe but it’s not infallible.

I'm sorry your friend has had such a hard time and you are a good friend to accommodate her.
This may be her first tiny step towards normality so I would try to accommodate her as much as you can while also trying to help her get things in perspective for the sake of her child as much as her.

I am CEV but double jabbed and trying to get on with life in the hope that the vaccine will stop me from dying. It may not stop me getting covid though. Until I was double jabbed the biggest precaution I took was ventilation. I do believe the importance has not been stressed enough. When my DC visited we sat with windows and doors wide open with them nearest the door.
I no longer take any real precautions other than mask indoors in public places (though my clubbing days are over .

Covid is airborne. Some links here to try and explain.

twitter.com/trishgreenhalgh/status/1389204113032876032?s=20

www.bmj.com/content/370/bmj.m3223

www.thelancet.com/article/S0140-6736(21)00869-2/fulltext

Your friend sounds like she is taking every sensible measures to reduce her risk, and after a traumatic loss, it is very obvious why she would wish to do that. You are thoughtful to accommodate her.

This remains an extremely nasty virus, that currently 1in 65 of us has, so if people feel strongly about reducing their chance of catching or transmitting it, these steps are logical.

Some people have a very different risk appetite, which is fair enough (if it doesn't come at the expense of others). I sometimes think that people who feel the need to pour score on people like your friend do so because they don't want to be reminded of the residual risk. We aren't back to normal, although vaccines are clearly massively helpful.

It's a good question, OP, because we all need to make informed choices.