Scientists Question if 6ft Social Distancing Is Enough to Stop Coronavirus Spread, as Coughs Appear to Spread Saliva 19ft

Scientists fear socially distancing by six feet may not be enough to protect people from saliva droplets which may be carrying germs like the coronavirus which causes COVID-19.

Researchers at the University of Nicosia, Cyprus, used existing data on coughs and saliva to create a computer simulation to predict how it moves through the air in different conditions. When a person coughs or sneezes, droplets of saliva form, and can burst out in moist, warm clouds of gas, the team explained in the study, published in the journal Physics of Fluids. The model took into account factors including wind speed in an open environment, how big the droplets were, the shape of a person’s mouth when coughing, as well as the intensity of the cough and how long it lasted. They also considered the temperature of the saliva, the human mouth and external temperature, as well as the relative humidity.

The computer model suggests that saliva droplets can travel up to 6 meters (19 ft) in wind speeds of 4 to 15 km/h (2 mph to 9 mph). The concentration and size of the droplets appeared to reduce in the direction of the wind…

 

 

 

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Scientists Question if 6ft Social Distancing Is Enough to Stop Coronavirus Spread, as Coughs Appear to Spread Saliva 19ft

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