MIT researchers say you’re no safer from Covid indoors at 6 feet or 60 feet in new study

Discussion in 'Health and Fitness' started by Daal, Apr 24, 2021.

  1. Daal

    Daal

    MIT researchers say you’re no safer from Covid indoors at 6 feet or 60 feet in new study challenging social distancing policies

    https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/23/mit...ndoors-at-6-feet-or-60-feet-in-new-study.html

    “We argue there really isn’t much of a benefit to the 6-foot rule, especially when people are wearing masks,” Bazant said in an interview. “It really has no physical basis because the air a person is breathing while wearing a mask tends to rise and comes down elsewhere in the room so you’re more exposed to the average background than you are to a person at a distance.”

    "The important variable the CDC and the WHO have overlooked is the amount of time spent indoors, Bazant said. The longer someone is inside with an infected person, the greater the chance of transmission, he said."

    "The distancing isn’t helping you that much and it’s also giving you a false sense of security because you’re as safe at 6 feet as you are at 60 feet if you’re indoors. Everyone in that space is at roughly the same risk, actually,” he noted.

    "As for social distancing outdoors, Bazant says it makes almost no sense and that doing so with masks on is “kind of crazy.”"

    “If you look at the air flow outside, the infected air would be swept away and very unlikely to cause transmission. There are very few recorded instances of outdoor transmission.” he said. “Crowded spaces outdoor could be an issue, but if people are keeping a reasonable distance of like 3 feet outside, I feel pretty comfortable with that even without masks frankly.”

    "After three rounds of heavy peer review, he said it’s the most review he’s ever been through, and that now that it’s published he hopes it will influence policy."

    Turns out the beach was actually one of the safest places to go to, conversely supermarkets aren't so safe, especially small ones