First, exhaled human breath has droplets of water too small to be seen. Each of these tiny fragments can be a flying saucer for germs, now especially Covid19. The number of exhaled droplets increases when speaking and increases astronomically with coughing or sneezing. When inhaled they go into the recipient’s lungs and start to multiply. An alternative way to infect another person is that viruses can gather on surfaces which can then be transferred to another’s hands and into that person’s mouth or nose.
It should be clear that measures, as stipulated in medical releases, should be employed to avoid inoculating your body with a deadly virus the likes of which has not been seen for a hundred years. The majority of infections are from inhaling infectious air from another person. Distancing at six feet will keep most of the contaminated air from reaching you unless the other person is shouting, coughing, or especially sneezing. Coughing or sneezing extends the harmful range to ten feet.
Masks can filter the air which is breathed but only if it passes through the mask material. Those people who have their nose uncovered have wasted their money because they are not filtering the air they are breathing at all. I gave up telling strangers this caution because it made some mad. One elderly man told me that saying air particles in the breath was crap. I told him to go in the restroom and blow against the mirror and they would coalesce for him to see. Also, with your mask on the droplets may fog your glasses. They do mine.
In addition, there are a bunch of masks being worn that are ineffective. If there are gaps especially beside the nose or along the edge of the mask against the cheeks, unfiltered air will reach your lungs. Take masks and hold them towards a bright light and if the light can be seen the mask is too porous. Replace it.
Covid-19 is more infectious than Flu which infects 20 to30 million Americans a year! A likely reason for this is that Covid infected people don’t develop symptoms for 3 to 5 days and can infect others without anyone being aware. Therefore, be extra careful when you are around people you don’t know or even people you know who are careless. When out in public I will move when someone comes too close or if I can’t I will ask them to please distance.
There is general consensus that a second way of getting infected is from the virus entering one’s body through the mouth or nose usually from contaminated hands. What follows next may seem too meticulous but when the threat is to life or health, I prefer to be very careful. When going out I carry a small container of sanitizer with the proper amount of alcohol to be effective. I know what I carry I don’t know what is in public dispensers. I use what I know will work.
If I’m going to use a cart the handle gets sanitized. I always mask-up and stay that way when people are about or have passed where I am going. Some viruses stay in the air for a while after the contaminated person has gone. Before getting in my car, I sanitize my hands and the credit card I used even if I was the only one who touched it. I sanitize the card because my hands possibly were contaminated when I used the card.
All items being brought into our home are rubbed down with sanitizing wipes before I do a systematic hand-washing. Do a detailed hand-washing when you come from going public and before eating, especially finger food.
Some mistakes I see others making that may not keep them free from Covid. I see smart people in restaurants and other venues touching the edge of drinking glasses and straws with unwashed hands. They may transfer what they had on their hands into their bodies. If servers are touching things that I will put into my mouth I politely ask for a replacement. If you go into a restaurant and the servers are not wearing masks or the tables are too close, leave.
