New COVID Data That Will Change Your Lifestyle
In early January 2020 during the explosive Coronavirus outbreak, a group of researchers in China conducted a study related to the transmission of the Coronavirus. They found that in over 7000 cases of the virus there was only ONE case in which a person outdoors transmitted the virus to another person outdoors.
This is relatively new data and as a result, the research article has not even been peer-reviewed as of yet. But, given the apparent quality of the study, it is quite an amazing result and needs to be studied carefully in further work. And it is important to note that these findings would be supported by an April 10th article in the National Institutes of Health Environmental International Journal that reinforces the significance of indoor airborne transmission of COVID-19.
If their findings are true it suggests that we may be safer outside, as long as we maintain social (physical) distancing.
The research by Qian, Miao, Liu, Zheng, Luo, and Li, attempted to understand where and how COVID is transmitted from one person to another. The researchers identified all outbreaks involving three or more cases and reviewed the major characteristics of the enclosed spaces in which the outbreaks were reported. They also noted any associated indoor environmental issues.
The study results found three hundred and eighteen outbreaks with three or more cases of the Coronavirus, involving 1245 confirmed cases in 120 cities. They divided the venues in which the outbreaks occurred into six categories: homes, transport, food, entertainment, shopping, and miscellaneous.
The researchers identified only a single outbreak in an outdoor environment, which involved two cases.
The outbreaks of three or more cases all occurred in indoor environments. Only a SINGLE outbreak occurred OUTSIDE, and it involved only two cases. The researchers believe that this confirms that sharing indoor space is a major COVID-19 infection risk.
