# Anyone else questioning the extent of "social isolation"? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [March 17, 2020, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-questioning-the-extent-of-social-isolation/849671 "2020-03-17T18:26:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 21
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2020, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-questioning-the-extent-of-social-isolation/849671/401 "2020-03-29T06:54:01Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > This isn’t about “well, then don’t follow it”. Not on this site. We’re supposed to be truth-seekers here, regardless of where the chips fall or what propaganda value it may or may not have to give this advice or that. Facts, evidence, logical arguments. The “straight dope”. …the facts are I don’t know what qualifications you have in microbiology, infectious diseases, and I don’t know how many years you’ve been studying infectious microbes. I do know that Siouxsie Wiles is an expert in all of these, and if her advice is to “limit conversations to a couple of minutes if you are going to insist on having a conversation” I’m going to assume she has more facts, evidence and logic behind what she has suggested than what you probably do in voicing your skepticism. I think now more than ever we need to be listening to the scientists. I don’t have all the answers. In a time of crisis I’m gonna defer to them. I don’t really have much of a choice. Its become a matter of life and death. And that’s the straight dope. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2020, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-questioning-the-extent-of-social-isolation/849671/402 "2020-03-29T07:07:27Z")
I actually did do a college internship in a medical microbiology/immunology lab at the University of Minnesota, but that was a long time ago. I’m an educated laymen, trying to look at a variety of sources and evaluate them. That’s kind of the MO of this board. And no, it’s not right to always just bow to the official advice. I called it weeks ago that the party line that masks don’t help laypeople was bullshit, and the cracks in that edifice have subsequently grown so prevalent that it’s about to crumble down completely. If they had had a sufficient supply such that there were plenty for health care workers and everyone else, I feel sure that they would have from the beginning been urging everyone to wear them whenever out in public, rather than peddling this other propaganda. ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2020, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-questioning-the-extent-of-social-isolation/849671/403 "2020-03-29T07:17:19Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > And no, it’s not right to always just bow to the official advice. …if I have the choice of adopting the advice of an anonymous person on the internet or someone (that isn’t speaking in official capacity) with relevant qualifications then I’m not going to take the advice of the anonymous person no matter how many times the anonymous person claims to have “gotten things right.” As you say we are truthseekers here. Facts, evidence, logical arguments. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2020, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-questioning-the-extent-of-social-isolation/849671/404 "2020-03-29T07:49:14Z")
I would say it should depend, _a lot,_ on the nature of the different kinds of advice you are hearing. If the U.S. Surgeon General (and CDC, and maybe WHO?) say “no, don’t buy masks–only medical personnel benefit from them and we need to save all the PPE” but the layman on the Internet points out the logical problem with it as well as the clear motivated reasoning, you’re going to dismiss the layman even though what he is advising you to do is actually the opposite of something like “go have a backyard party” in terms of caution? Really? Speaking of which, this article came out yesterday interviewing a Chinese scientist who said this has been a big mistake made in the West, and that’s not all he thinks we’re failing to learn from Asian countries: [https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/03/not-wearing-masks-protect-against-coronavirus-big-mistake-top-chinese-scientist-says#](https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/03/not-wearing-masks-protect-against-coronavirus-big-mistake-top-chinese-scientist-says#) > [@](#): > > \*\*Q: What mistakes are other countries making? \*\* > > A: The big mistake in the U.S. and Europe, in my opinion, is that people aren’t wearing masks. This virus is transmitted by droplets and close contact. Droplets play a very important role—you’ve got to wear a mask, because when you speak, there are always droplets coming out of your mouth. Many people have asymptomatic or presymptomatic infections. If they are wearing face masks, it can prevent droplets that carry the virus from escaping and infecting others. > > **Q: What about other control measures? China has made aggressive use of thermometers at the entrances to stores, buildings, and public transportation stations, for instance.** > > A: Yes. Anywhere you go inside in China, there are thermometers. You have to try to take people’s temperatures as often as you can to make sure that whoever has a high fever stays out. > And a really important outstanding question is how stable this virus is in the environment. Because it’s an enveloped virus, people think it’s fragile and particularly sensitive to surface temperature or humidity. But from both U.S. results and Chinese studies, it looks like it’s very resistant to destruction on some surfaces. It may be able to survive in many environments. We need to have science-based answers here. > > **Q: People who tested positive in Wuhan but only had mild disease were sent into isolation in large facilities and were not allowed to have visits from family. Is this something other countries should consider?** > > A: Infected people must be isolated. That should happen everywhere. You can only control COVID-19 if you can remove the source of the infection. ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2020, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-questioning-the-extent-of-social-isolation/849671/405 "2020-03-29T08:03:13Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > I would say it should depend, _a lot,_ on the nature of the different kinds of advice you are hearing. If the U.S. Surgeon General (and CDC, and maybe WHO?) say “no, don’t buy masks–only medical personnel benefit from them and we need to save all the PPE” but the layman on the Internet points out the logical problem with it as well as the clear motivated reasoning, you’re going to dismiss the layman even though what he is advising you to do is actually the opposite of something like “go have a backyard party” in terms of caution? Really? …the advice we are talking about here is “you shouldn’t really be talking to anyone outside of your bubble at all. That defeats the purpose of the lockdown. But if you must talk to someone then get no closer than 2 metres and keep it under a couple of minutes.” If the laymen suggests that “How is it that a brief chat won’t infect anyone but a long one will”, then I’m going to take the advice of the expert and not the laymen who is “just asking questions” and hasn’t actually offered any advice. > [@](#): > > Speaking of which, this article came out yesterday interviewing a Chinese scientist who said this has been a big mistake made in the West, and that’s not all he thinks we’re failing to learn from Asian countries: > > [https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/03/not-wearing-masks-protect-against-coronavirus-big-mistake-top-chinese-scientist-says#](https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/03/not-wearing-masks-protect-against-coronavirus-big-mistake-top-chinese-scientist-says#) I think its been pointed out over and over again the failures to learn from Asian countries over this. And the failure of the US Administration has been criminal. But you don’t think we should be talking about that either, so lets just pretend that isn’t happening. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2020, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-questioning-the-extent-of-social-isolation/849671/406 "2020-03-29T14:46:35Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > How is it that a brief chat won’t infect anyone but a long one will? 😕 Even in terms of playing the probabilities, it would make more sense to me if the advice were to restrict the \*number \*of people you chat with rather than talking about the _length of time_ you chat with them. Since I don’t see an answer from anyone else, I’ll venture a WAG: During the time you’re chatting with someone, there’s the possibility that one of you will unexpectedly sneeze, or cough, or just expel some droplets of moisture particularly forcefully while speaking, far enough to reach the other person. This is something that _probably_ won’t happen, but the longer you’re chatting, the greater the probability. But like I said, this is just a WAG. I’d rather see either this answer or a different one from someone who really knows what they’re talking about. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2020, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-questioning-the-extent-of-social-isolation/849671/407 "2020-03-29T15:13:23Z")
It’s my understanding that it’s also true that viral load matters. One virus is almost certainly not going to infect you. Your immune system can handle that. You get infected because your immune system is too overwhelmed with virus to stop them all. This is why healthcare workers are in so much danger: they are exposed to a much higher viral load. So I can see that a brief conversation with 10 people, 2 of whom are infected, might lead to a much lower viral load than 1 infected person for a longer period of time. That said, I also think that inverse square law applies. If 2 meters has been determined to be “safe enough”, then 3 meters is going to be substantially safer–and 4 meters dramatically safer. Now, a conversation at 4 meters is not comfortable–you’d have to raise your voice–but it is possible. If 2 meters for a few minutes is “probably safe”, it really seems to me that 3-4 meters (all outdoors, of course) for 10 minutes almost has to be. However, arguments about compliance and normalizing socialization still apply. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2020, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-questioning-the-extent-of-social-isolation/849671/408 "2020-03-29T16:06:16Z")
My Wife and I don’t go out that much. She may go see her girlfriends a couple of times a month. Or we will go out for dinner once or twice a month. I’m going to have to take care of my 90 year old mother in Denver. I do her grocery shopping. I do that a few times a month. And her doctor visits as well. But I do that anyway. We have been playing a lot of chess for the last couple of years, and are now playing cards as well. Need some more good two person card games. GOOGLE is your friend. We are also now working from home. Separate offices. It’s over satellite internet, so the latency sucks, but it works. I’m going to have to keep an eye on our data allowance. My Wife takes our dogs snowshoeing pretty much every day. Our house backs up to National Forest, they leave right from home. No driving involved. The local distillery has a “Buy one, get one at half price” So I stocked up on that. I’ve become a Bourbon man (that’s a bit of a surprise). So that has changed. I hate, hate what is happening, but for my wife and I it’s working out well. No traffic (our grocery store is in a resort area, and it’s not busy at all, when usually it would be a mad house. It’s great). Don’t get me wrong, I feel for the people that this is truly fucking over. We did cancel a trip to Key West, but that’s not a big deal really. Aside from working from home, it’s kinda business as usual. I’ve been fighting for the ability to work from home for years. TPTB had been sitting on their thumbs until this happened. Hicks: “Outstanding. Now all we need is a deck of cards.” ---
**Author:** ![raspberry\_hunter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@raspberry\_hunter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raspberry_hunter)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2020, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-questioning-the-extent-of-social-isolation/849671/409 "2020-03-29T20:13:20Z")
How about [this article by Atul Gawande](https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/keeping-the-coronavirus-from-infecting-health-care-workers) about keeping coronavirus from infecting health care workers? > [@Atul Gawande](#): > > What happens when someone unexpectedly tests positive—say, a hospital co-worker or a patient in a primary-care office or an emergency room? In Hong Kong and Singapore, they don’t shut the place down or put everyone under home quarantine. They do their best to trace every contact and then quarantine only those who had close contact with the infected person. In Hong Kong, “close contact” means fifteen minutes at a distance of less than six feet and without the use of a surgical mask; in Singapore, thirty minutes. If the exposure is shorter than the prescribed limit but within six feet for more than two minutes, workers can stay on the job if they wear a surgical mask and have twice-daily temperature checks. People who have had brief, incidental contact are just asked to monitor themselves for symptoms. > > The fact that these measures have succeeded in flattening the covid-19 curve carries some hopeful implications. He says later in the article that Singapore has not had a single recorded health-care-related transmission of the coronavirus. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2020, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-questioning-the-extent-of-social-isolation/849671/410 "2020-03-29T21:05:45Z")
This guy has some good advice. NSFW for language. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/e0-2XxgHIXk/maxresdefault.jpg "A COVID-19 Admonition \*\*\*EXPLICIT") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0-2XxgHIXk) ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2020, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-questioning-the-extent-of-social-isolation/849671/411 "2020-03-30T00:44:33Z")
I know better than to express any personal opinion in a thread like this but I think that perhaps passing on [Marc Lipsitch’s expert opinion](https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/features/coronavirus-covid-19-press-conference-with-marc-lipsitch-03-23-20/) might be of interest to a few. > [@Marc Lipsitch](#): > > if you can sit outside and talk to your neighbor across the fence, that is social distancing. FWIW and offered without comment. ---
**Author:** ![Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heffalump_and_roo/32/7691_2.png) [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heffalump_and_Roo)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2020, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-questioning-the-extent-of-social-isolation/849671/412 "2020-03-30T01:32:55Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > I know better than to express any personal opinion in a thread like this but I think that perhaps passing on [Marc Lipsitch’s expert opinion](https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/features/coronavirus-covid-19-press-conference-with-marc-lipsitch-03-23-20/) might be of interest to a few. > FWIW and offered without comment. Here’s another expert opinion. [Sorry, hanging out while 6 feet apart isn’t coronavirus social distancing, expert says](https://www.nj.com/coronavirus/2020/03/sorry-hanging-out-while-6-feet-apart-isnt-coronavirus-social-distancing-expert-says.html?utm_campaign=njcom_sf&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&utm_content=nj_facebook_njcom) > [@](#): > > The pictures have popped up on social media since social distancing became a necessity to battle to spread of the coronavirus. > > Groups of neighborhood dads or moms spread out in a circle, drinking beer or wine in the street. A gaggle of teenagers sitting atop their parked cars, hanging out apart from each other. A pair of fishermen standing more than six feet apart in a shallow river. > > Those precautions are all in the name of preventing the spread of the respiratory virus within New Jersey and the United States. But to practice true social distancing, those gatherings shouldn’t happen at all, according to one health expert. > > Dr. Maria Ciminelli, the president of the New Jersey Academy of Family Physicians and director of the CentraState Family Medicine Residency Program, said guidelines for people to remain six feet apart are meant only for those essential trips outside the home. Any extended, unnecessary contact with people, even six feet apart, violates the spirit of the precautions. Edit: From Reddit thread [here.](https://old.reddit.com/r/Coronavirus/comments/fqunyb/sorry_hanging_out_while_6_feet_apart_isnt/) ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2020, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-questioning-the-extent-of-social-isolation/849671/413 "2020-03-30T03:00:43Z")
> [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](#): > > Here’s another expert opinion. > [Sorry, hanging out while 6 feet apart isn’t coronavirus social distancing, expert says](https://www.nj.com/coronavirus/2020/03/sorry-hanging-out-while-6-feet-apart-isnt-coronavirus-social-distancing-expert-says.html?utm_campaign=njcom_sf&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&utm_content=nj_facebook_njcom) > > Edit: From Reddit thread [here.](https://old.reddit.com/r/Coronavirus/comments/fqunyb/sorry_hanging_out_while_6_feet_apart_isnt/) President of the New Jersey Academy of Family Physicians isn’t an expert. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2020, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-questioning-the-extent-of-social-isolation/849671/414 "2020-03-30T03:19:11Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > I know better than to express any personal opinion in a thread like this but I think that perhaps passing on [Marc Lipsitch’s expert opinion](https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/features/coronavirus-covid-19-press-conference-with-marc-lipsitch-03-23-20/) might be of interest to a few. > FWIW and offered without comment. I On the other hand, Marc Lipsitch was on that list of experts that massively underestimated the infection level at this point, no? ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2020, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-questioning-the-extent-of-social-isolation/849671/415 "2020-03-30T03:31:41Z")
Ah but we don’t know which of the estimates his was! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2020, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-questioning-the-extent-of-social-isolation/849671/416 "2020-03-30T05:43:06Z")
Christ on a cracker, people! It’s just common sense. There’s nothing magical about 6 feet. It’s obvious that the longer you spend in proximity to someone else, the more likely you’ll catch or infect. The more people you add to the group, the more likely it is that infection will be transmitted. 6 feet does not create an impermeable barrier. It’s also obvious that wearing a mask will help reduce transmission. How could it not? Quibble about distance/time ratios and microns and expert opinions all you want, but you know perfectly well what you should be doing. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2020, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-questioning-the-extent-of-social-isolation/849671/417 "2020-03-30T09:56:48Z")
> [@Banquet\_Bear](#): > > At level 4 we can only purchase food from the supermarkets: everything else (as in practically every other shop and business that isn’t operating from home) is closed. You can go for a walk in your local neighbourhood, but no further. We don’t even get to do walks - including dog walking. Only necessary grocery and pharmacy shopping excursions allowed. Not going to matter once this hits the uber-dense, 50-people-to-a-toilet-and-tap one-room-shack shantytowns, though. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2020, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-questioning-the-extent-of-social-isolation/849671/418 "2020-03-30T11:07:58Z")
> [@Green\_Bean](#): > > Christ on a cracker, people! It’s just common sense. > > There’s nothing magical about 6 feet. It’s obvious that the longer you spend in proximity to someone else, the more likely you’ll catch or infect. The more people you add to the group, the more likely it is that infection will be transmitted. 6 feet does not create an impermeable barrier. > > . Does any distance? It’s “obvious” to me, through I don’t know if it’s true, that there is some about of open air that is as impenetrable as a glass window. There’s so amount of space that water droplets cannot cross in sufficient quantity to be a risk. The original question wasn’t if that distancewas 6 feet, but if it was 10. The answer seems to be “no one knows, but it’s not entirely implausible, so probably you should err on the side of caution”. Do you think there’s any distance where it’s safe? Do you think through a window is safe? ---
**Author:** ![Francis\_Vaughan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/francis_vaughan/32/3093_2.png) [@Francis\_Vaughan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francis_Vaughan)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2020, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-questioning-the-extent-of-social-isolation/849671/419 "2020-03-30T11:41:14Z")
Comparing distance to a glass window is really a straw man argument. Distance in air is all about droplets. There is evidence that droplet transmission is a real problem with Covid-19. Stand distance x from something emitting droplets, what is your chance of inhaling a droplet? Then what is the chance of inhaling enough drops that you get a critical dose of virus to start an infection? It is really as simple as that. The longer you stand there the higher your chance of infection. One minute versus one hour - your risk may be 60 times higher. Droplet density will decrease with the square of the distance (very roughly) and any wind will effectively increase or decrease the effective distance. Even a light breeze may collapse the effective distance dramatically. After a time the droplet will dry or fall onto a surface. Dry will _eventually_ kill the virus. 5 feet versus 10 feet is 4 times the area. So as a very rough approximation, 4 minutes at 10 feet is as bad as one minute at 5 feet. Obviously there is a distance at which the rate droplets dry out or have dissipated that starts to make the density of dangerous droplets fall faster than just the distance to the potentially infectious person. But what that is is hard to know. It probably depends upon a range of local factors, including temperature and humidity. Imagine you were some distance from a smoker. Once you breathe in a critical number of smoke particles, you are infected. How does that change visualisation of the risks? But overall, spending an hour ten feet from an infected person is driving your risk up dramatically. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2020, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-questioning-the-extent-of-social-isolation/849671/420 "2020-03-30T11:54:48Z")
I’ve conceded that. But what about 15 feet? 20? What about 5 minutes instead of 60? I don’t think any of it is “obvious” at all. I think it’s worth discussing. I was walking around the block 3 days ago and a neighbor I used to work with was outside. He said hello and we stood 15 feet apart and talked for at most 5 minutes. I don’t think it’s obvious whether or not that was safe. I really don’t know. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-questioning-the-extent-of-social-isolation/849671.md?page=20) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-questioning-the-extent-of-social-isolation/849671.md?page=22)