- A high school student in South Korea became infected with COVID-19 in just five minutes while sitting 20 feet away from an infected person, a new study details.
- The epidemiology team used cellphone data, video footage, genome sequencing and recreated the situation to bring them to their conclusion.
- These findings show that infectious respiratory drops can travel more than six feet; In this case, they were driven by the restaurant’s airflow.
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When a high-school senior in Jeonju, a city in South Korea, tested positive for COVID-19 in June, public health professionals were puzzled. The city had not seen a case in two months, and the larger province had not seen a case in a month.
The young woman had not been out of town for weeks, and there was mostly a shuttle between home and school. So where and from whom did he get infected?
After a detailed investigation, an epidemiological team concluded that the student had contracted COVID-19 while eating at a restaurant. An outside business visitor, who later tested positive for COVID-19, stopped there.
The two only overlapped for five minutes, and stayed 20 feet apart. They never spoke or touched a single dorknob.
The findings explain that the standard definition of dangerous close contact – within 6 feet for at least 15 minutes – is not safe, especially for indoor settings, and should not be seen as protective.
Investigators used cell phone data, credit card records and created the situation manually.
To investigate them, which was published on November 23 in the Journal of Korean Medical Sciences. The team used interviews, medical history, credit-card records, video footage and cell phone data.
They recreated the situation at the restaurant, measuring the airflow, which was like a blowing fan. The rest restaurant rent did not have windows open or a type of ventilation system that could help disperse COVID-19 particles.
Korean Journal of Medical Sciences
Epidemiologists concluded that the student had been infected with respiratory drops which were carried forward by the restaurant’s airflow. The other diner along the stream route was also infected, but those with backs to the wind were not.
Genomic tests matching the genetic types of the three patients reinforced their findings.
“Surprisingly, despite sitting too far away, the wind came down the wall and created a valley of wind. People along the line were infected,” said Dr. Said Lee Ju-hyung. LA Times. “We concluded this was a short broadcast,” 6.6 feet ahead.
Due to the potential of the Oor Rosol transmission, indoor dining was already considered dangerous in that part.
Other cases of coronavirus transmission warn more than six feet away from the air, as it indicates that tiny virus particles, called aerosols, extend into space, perhaps even after the infected person leaves the area, Insider’s Hillary Brooke reports.
But the study found that respiratory drops cut a 20-foot distance, which is particularly worrying because it is the central route of transmission of the virus.
Dr. Megan Murray, a Infectious disease specialist at Harvard, Previously told Insider that when any outdoor meal comes with risk, it is safe to eat out in the sun with the right wind in a Tu-go style meal. “Very crowded spaces without good ventilation like bars” are the most dangerous.
