A person traveling on the subway – if infected with the coronavirus – can easily transfer it to the person they are talking to, as well as other travelers. If it does not cover the face with a mask, it poses a considerable threat to other passengers. Here is a visualization that shows how easily the virus spreads in public transport.
Coronavirus on the subway. Is it easy to get infected?
Dr Julian Tang, an expert on respiratory disease at the University of Leicester, told BBC News that the droplets of saliva emitted during a conversation do not travel as far as the aerosol from sneezing or coughing (in this case, as much as 22 feet, i.e. almost 7 meters), but still reach far enough away to transmit the virus to the other party or someone nearby. The distance the infectious material is spread is greater than you might think.
«When you smell something in someone’s breath – garlic, curry or alcohol – you are breathing what they exhale. If you breathe in enough air to smell it, then you are close enough to absorb any virus that is in this air »- he explained.
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Coronavirus is transmitted by droplets, but also superficially, which is a threat, e.g. for travelers. Micro-droplets settle on clothes, seats, buttons, handles on a bus, train or subwayand on the hands they can be transferred further. MSC Software – a software and simulation company – has created a video that proves: wearing a mask in public transport is essential to fighting the pandemic.
The simulation on the example of the metro shows that the particles from the mouth of the speaking person reach people who are sitting or standing nearby within a dozen or so seconds. When the mouth is covered with the mask, much less aerosol escapes from under the mask, but still some wanders towards the interlocutor.
Therefore, it is worth keeping your distance and limiting the time spent in a confined space where others are. According to the World Health Organization, in conditions where it is impossible to keep a distance of 2 meters, it should be reduce the time spent between people to 15 minutes.
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