Spit travels further on a windy day, shows virus study
Findings from a new model suggest the 1.5m social distancing rule may not be enough when it's breezy
Breezy days may require different social distancing measures with new findings suggesting saliva can travel further after a cough when the wind is up.
Current guidelines recommend people keep 1.5m to 2m away from each other to avoid droplets containing SARS-CoV-2.
However, a new model shows that saliva droplets could travel as far as six metres from a coughing or sneezing person in open spaces, according to the results published in AIP Physics of Fluids.
“In open spaces, airborne droplets carriers can travel significantly further than the two metres recommended distance due to the wind speed,” said study co-author Professor Dimitris Drikakis from the University of Nicosia in Cyprus.
