02 Aug 21
1 edit
[A]ccording to many scientists and public health experts, who say that the outdoor spaces now warming under spring sun should be viewed as havens in the battle against a stubborn virus and restriction-induced fatigue. For more than a year, the vast majority of documented coronavirus clusters have been linked to indoor or indoor-outdoor settings — households, meatpacking plants, nursing homes and restaurants. Near-absent are examples of transmission at beaches and other open spaces where breezes disperse airborne particles, distancing is easier, and humidity and sunlight render the coronavirus less viable.
Beaches and parks “are some of the safest places you can gather,” said Linsey Marr, an expert on airborne virus transmission at Virginia Tech. “Outdoors now is even safer than before, because we have more people who are vaccinated and who have already had covid-19.”
- WaPo, no less
https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2021/04/13/covid-outside-safety/
02 Aug 21
@sh76 saidAgain, where does it say that non-socially distanced people outside have little chance of COVID19 transmission?Five identified studies found a low proportion of reported global SARS-CoV-2 infections occurred outdoors (<10% ) and the odds of indoor transmission was very high compared to outdoors (18.7 times; 95% confidence interval, 6.0–57.9).
https://academic.oup.com/jid/article/223/4/550/6009483
The argument that there weren't a lot of transmissions on beaches when most were closed reminds me of this one from George of the Jungle(the cartoon, not the crappy Brendan Frasier movie);
P: What's that charm you're wearing do?
G: It keeps polar bears away.
P: But you're in equatorial Africa! There's no polar bears for thousands of miles!
G ( smugly): See how well it works!
02 Aug 21
@sh76 saidFrom your cite:Five identified studies found a low proportion of reported global SARS-CoV-2 infections occurred outdoors (<10% ) and the odds of indoor transmission was very high compared to outdoors (18.7 times; 95% confidence interval, 6.0–57.9).
https://academic.oup.com/jid/article/223/4/550/6009483
"Case reports identified after our review had been completed provide further evidence that high-density outdoor gatherings, particularly with low mask use, may lead to higher transmission rates. Miron et al noted that incidence of COVID-19 cases was significantly higher in 14 out of 20 counties that had a large outdoor gathering 15 days prior [26]. Dave et al estimated that in the 3 weeks following the start of the Sturgis motorcycle rally on 7 August 2020, in South Dakota, a multiday event with 500 000 participants, cases grew more in counties with weak mitigation policies than those with strong mitigation policies (such as closure of restaurants and bars, or mask-wearing mandates) as participants returned to their homes [27]."
02 Aug 21
@shavixmir saidThey don't have chicken pox vaccines in The Netherlands?
We don’t.
We use chickenpox to vaccinate against smallpox.
02 Aug 21
@no1marauder saidMany, many beaches were wide open last summer.
Again, where does it say that non-socially distanced people outside have little chance of COVID19 transmission?
The argument that there weren't a lot of transmissions on beaches when most were closed reminds me of this one from George of the Jungle(the cartoon, not the crappy Brendan Frasier movie);
P: What's that charm you're wearing do?
G: It keeps polar ...[text shortened]... torial Africa! There's no polar bears for thousands of miles!
G ( smugly): See how well it works!
02 Aug 21
1 edit
@sh76 said"Fortunately if you like space, almost all beaches in the U.S. that are open are enforcing the Centers fir Disease Control’s social distancing guidelines that towels and beach chairs—and, more specifically, each family unit—must be spaced at least 6’ apart from each other to reduce the potential spread of the virus."
Many, many beaches were wide open last summer.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/petertaylor/2020/05/15/americas-beaches-have-re-opened-for-memorial-day-weekend-heres-what-you-need-to-know-state-by-state/?sh=49787b377f28
And that was in May; it's fairly easy to find significant areas where beaches were closed later in the summer:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/news/2020/06/29/florida-closes-beaches-july-4th-weekend-covid-19-rates-surge/3277800001/
https://www.latimes.com/travel/story/2020-07-01/fourth-of-july-beach-parks-closures-southern-california