The Bright Side Of Waiting Outside
“Imagine someone who is infected as a smoker.” This is a great analogy I heard from Linsey Marr, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Virginia Tech.
She was describing the risks of COVID-19 transmission indoors versus outdoors. Just as it’s harder to get away from cigarette smoke inside, it’s harder to get away from infected air inside. There’s no fresh breeze to carry it away, and particularly in smaller spaces, there’s a greater likelihood of just sitting in an invisible pool of the stuff for long periods. The difference in indoor versus outdoor transmission is so stark that a database of more than 20,000 COVID-19 cases found only 6 percent that could be traced to outdoor transmission.
Just something to keep in mind if you’re standing out in the cold today, waiting to vote and feeling crabby about it. You may be chilly, but you’re definitely safer.