The research showed that only 0.1% of the total cases recorded in Ireland are attributable to outdoor environments. Translated it means that only one person in a thousand becomes infected outside closed environments. The transmission of the virus in outdoor environments, therefore, would have a minor impact on the trend of infections. The data were disclosed by the "Health Protection Surveillance Center (HPSC), which monitors the spread of Covid-19 in Ireland and outbreaks on the territory, and were published by the Irish Times.
Even according to a study conducted by the University of California, the possibility of contracting the virus indoors is 19 times greater than outdoors.
up to 24 March 2021, 232,164 cases of Covid-19 were recorded, but only 262 were to be attributed to the contagion that took place outdoors, ie only 0.1% of the total. According to what was highlighted by the HPSC, 42 outbreaks referred to gatherings in the open air. Half of them mainly concern construction sites, while the other half concerns sports and fitness activities. The way in which transmission took place between individual cases, therefore between work colleagues on construction sites or between people who were practicing outdoor physical activity, was not specified.
The University of Canterbury reviewed 7,500 cases of contagion in China and Japan prior to the lockdown, concluding that outdoor transmission was "so limited as to be statistically insignificant." The virus in the open dissolves very quickly and the risks of contagion are limited.
involved 1,245 infected people: only in three cases the transmission had occurred as a result of outdoor activities. In this specific case it was a person who had infected two others while chatting at close range on the street without a mask. 80% of infections , as also confirmed by the trend of infections in Italy of the Istituto Superiore di Sanità, was instead recorded within the home, and 34% on public transport. All the outbreaks that involved three or more people occurred indoors, in fact, it is precisely the closed and poorly ventilated spaces that represent a high risk for the transmission of the virus.
Even in the swimming pool, the risk of contagion would be very low. It seems that chlorine from swimming pools inactivates Coronavirus very quickly and effectively, at least according to a new study.
, ie the droplets emitted by speaking, breathing, coughing, sneezing, that they fall within half a meter. For this reason, a distance of one and a half meters has been confirmed as safe to avoid contagion in the open air.The "social distancing" of about 1.5m imposed by the decrees was considered an efficient method of preventing and combating the spread of the virus as it has been shown that the greatest number of droplets falls towards the ground and / or evaporates before being able to travel a distance of 1.5m.
In light of the results of the studies conducted on the risk of transmission of the virus by practicing outdoor activities, running or brisk walking are allowed, but it is necessary to pay attention to the safety distance in case of movement. Often the social distance of 1, 5 meters is not enough to protect from the risk of coming into contact with or inhaling the small potentially virus-laden droplets. It is precisely the smaller droplets that represent the biggest problem: the larger droplets of saliva or sweat, potentially more infectious, remain in fact in the environment less than those of more limited dimensions which, however, are not yet fully defined in terms of contagion risk.
To reduce the risk of contagion, after coming into contact with objects and surfaces, sanitize your hands without making mistakes.
Physical outdoor activities: anti-contagion distances
The distances to be respected while on the move
- Easy walking, side by side or diagonally: 2 meters
- Fast walking in the wake or staggered: 4 meters
- Stroke: 10 meters
- Brisk biking: 15-20 meters away
Two people standing or sitting, who do not perform any aerodynamic movements, must be at least 1.5 meters apart to consider themselves safe from exposure of the droplets of saliva emitted while talking (but also with laughter, sneezing, a cough or yawn).
