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We all remember those early days of the pandemic. I used to run with a mask on outdoors with no one in sight. (Imagine my relief to learn that outdoor air effectively disperses pathogens). I wiped off groceries in case they were contaminated. (Experts now say it鈥檚 reasonable to just wash your hands thoroughly after touching stuff.)
And I tried to stay 6 feet away from 鈥� well, everyone in public. That鈥檚 what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended back in 2020. Remember those strips of tape plastered to sidewalks leading into banks and in grocery store checkout areas so you wouldn鈥檛 accidentally get too close to the next person.
Then in the newly released transcript of a congressional hearing from earlier this year, Dr. Anthony Fauci stated that the 6-foot rule 鈥渟ort of just appeared鈥� and 鈥渨asn鈥檛 based on data.鈥�
Those who never liked the idea of physical distancing were thrilled! Ha ha, CDC was wrong!
Now here we are in the summer of 2024. There鈥檚 a new, more transmissible variant of COVID-19 circulating and CDC is
This new variant is not considered as likely as past variants to bring on severe disease. But there are people who face a greater risk of serious COVID because of age or infirmities. And no one wants to get sick right before or during a trip.
So the frequently asked question is: Does distancing yourself from others who could be contagious with COVID-19 help in any way? Or has the idea of distance been debunked?
To answer those questions, let鈥檚 start by digging into distance.
Did they just pull "6 feet" out of a hat?
The idea behind the CDC recommendation was that putting space between yourself and others was a way to avoid pathogens exhaled by people with COVID.
Was 6 feet just a made-up number? After all, the World Health Organization only suggested 3 feet as a safety zone.
A kinda weird (and relatively ancient) history lesson may offer up a clue.
In the late 1800s, scientists asked people to rinse their mouths with bacteria (editor鈥檚 note: yuk) and then just 鈥� talk. Crazy!
And what happened? 鈥淭hey saw bacteria landing on plates up to a distance of about 6 feet away,鈥� says , an aerosols expert and professor of civil and environmental engineering at Virginia Tech.
鈥淏ut, if they waited longer 鈥� several hours -- to collect the plates, allowing time for respiratory particles to drift around the room and settle, they saw bacteria landing on plates much farther than 6 feet away," she adds.
So yeah, 6 feet is not a magic number for avoiding airborne pathogens.
It鈥檚 not like if you go one inch further you鈥檙e suddenly in a danger zone. It鈥檚 more like a speed limit, suggests , a infectious disease fellow at Stanford University. 鈥淭here鈥檚 no data to say 55 mph is significantly safer than 56. But you have to have a cutoff that鈥檚 reasonable.鈥�
The ABCs of transmission
Now let鈥檚 take a detour from distance and think about how COVID spreads. Early in the pandemic, the idea was that the sick person spewed out relatively big, wet droplets that could come into contact with others. These droplets would eventually fall to the ground due to gravity.
But in 2024, 鈥渢here isn鈥檛 much evidence supporting鈥� that route of transmission, says Marr, who did pioneering work to establish that much tinier airborne aerosols can nab you. (She won a MacArthur 鈥済enius鈥� grant last year for her research.)
And how far can an aerosol fly? 鈥淭he distance depends on their size and air currents,鈥� she says. 鈥淭heir pathway could easily be hundreds of feet before they reach the ground.鈥�
So yes, in theory you could be a lot farther than 6 feet from a sick person and still fall victim to their exhaled pathogens. But 鈥�.
Why distance does still matter
Here鈥檚 the thing: Even with this revised understanding of the spread of COVID, the closer you are to the person with COVID, the higher your risk of catching it.
鈥淎s you get farther away from the infected person, aerosols become more diluted, so the chance of inhaling [particles] usually goes down with distance,鈥� says Marr.
As an analogy, Marr suggests you think about cigarette smoke. Smaller COVID particles 鈥渂ehave like cigarette smoke. If you鈥檙e close to someone who exhaled a big puff of smoke, you鈥檙e exposed to more than if you鈥檙e farther away. The farther away you get, the better.鈥�
Need more convincing? In from one infected passenger in business class, those who caught the virus were also seated in business class. The study, published in Emerging Infectious Diseases in 2020, reports: 鈥淲e found a clear association between sitting in close proximity to case 1 and risk for infection.鈥�
Let鈥檚 sum up with a quote from Marr: 鈥淒istance matters, but there鈥檚 nothing magical about 6 feet.鈥�
And an observation from Karan: 鈥淧eople always knew this. You stay away from someone who looks visibly sick.鈥� And while your family members and friends would likely warn you to stay away if they鈥檙e feeling sick, you can鈥檛 count on that happening in a crowd of strangers.
Layers of safety
So bottom line: Keeping a degree of distance from others can help but should be viewed as one arrow in a quiver of strategies to reduce your risk of catching COVID.
The amount of time you鈥檙e exposed to a sick person matters. If you鈥檙e going to dash into a store and just breeze past a bunch of customers, some of whom might be infectious with COVID or other diseases, your odds of getting infected are 鈥渧ery low,鈥� says Karan. The less time the better (although again, there鈥檚 no magic number).
You might try to keep gatherings outside 鈥� outdoor air is your best friend when it comes to dispersing pathogens.
If you鈥檝e had COVID or been vaccinated, that can help you fight off a new infection or at least reduce the severity of disease if you do catch the virus.
A good mask (think N95 or K95) that fits and is worn properly (don鈥檛 let your nostrils peek out) is the gold standard. You can鈥檛 always control the distance factor, says infectious disease professor of the University of Michigan. 鈥淏ut a mask is incredibly effective,鈥� she says. 鈥淎nd what鈥檚 the cost of wearing a mask on the plane? Nothing, really!鈥�
Abraar Karan notes that he and colleagues at the hospital where he works do mask up when seeing patients with respiratory diseases 鈥� and aren鈥檛 catching COVID.
And keep some COVID tests handy 鈥� at home or in your trip supplies 鈥� just in case you have some symptoms that could be allergies, a cold ... or COVID.
How do you figure out what to do? Our experts say: It depends 鈥� on you.
鈥淚f you鈥檙e concerned about COVID you鈥檙e the person who鈥檚 going to be responsible,鈥� says Malani. 鈥淥thers aren鈥檛 going to protect you.鈥�
You might amp up your protective measures if鈥�
Your age or medical history puts you at high risk for severe disease.
You鈥檙e a caregiver for someone at risk.
You鈥檒l be venturing into an indoor venue with lots of strangers 鈥� a gym, a rock concert, a crowded bus, subway car or plane.
You鈥檙e planning a trip or family get-together and want to make sure you don鈥檛 accidentally infect a more vulnerable family member.
There鈥檚 also something you can do for the good of humanity, too. And it involves distance.
鈥淚 can鈥檛 stress this enough,鈥� says Malani. 鈥淚f you鈥檙e not feeling well don鈥檛 put others at risk.鈥� In other words, stay home!
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