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Comment by bb2018 | Hacker News Reader

bb2018·

Does anyone have a good explanation for the statistics of these types of data.

For instance, I've heard keep six feet away. However, I assume six feet is the distance where the chance of contracting is <0.1%, at five feet it is 1%, etc. etc. Nothing is black and white.

Is the chance of contracting it from a surface meaningful? Or simply the equivalent to "it is possible to catch it from someone 15 feet away even if extremely slim"

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I don't have stats or references, but I heard on a pretty reputable podcast a couple of days ago that physical contact appears to be the biggest single vector for SARS-CoV-2. Hence the huge emphasis on hand washing.

And here I thought that hand washing was recommended like crazy to prevent people from getting the virus into their mouth, eyes and nose. The lack of accurate information is maddening.

I think that's what the grandparent is referring to: "physical contact" as opposed to "in aerosols". I don't think they meant actual physical contact with infected people.

What makes you think that isn’t accurate?

Yes - that's what I mean. Virus gets onto hands via touching objects & surfaces, and from there to face.

Also (to be fair) if you want to increase your chances of getting accurate info you probably need to go to more credentialled sources than some random guy reporting on an unnamed podcast in an HN comment ;)

Six feet comes from the settling distance curves for droplets of different sizes. There may well be a hard cutoff where the probability is negligible under normal circumstances.

It can transmit between people much farther. The bus study that used cctv footage was further apart than five meters.

Is that with a sneeze propellant or just normal suspension from carriers breathing?

Sneeze, although it’s got a long tail (approx 30 ft, which is ridiculous).

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