If someone positive for coronavirus coughs directly on you, and you inhale, it it virtually guaranteed that that it will spread to you? What about something even more intimate, like a an open-mouth kiss? I assume that the probability of the latter is far more than the former, but is it 100%?
How about someone with the virus coughs into their hand, grabs a doorknob, and then another person grabs it and touches their own face? I assume much lower, but is there any estimate on the probability?
Can we estimates based on data on the spread of other viruses, or is this one completely independent of the others?
AIUI this virus primarily spreads through the air. Coughing pushes viruses into the surrounding area and if you happen to inhale any of those particles you may get infected with the virus. If someone who is infected licks a piece of food, hands it to you and you eat it I think you are a lot less likely to be infected than if they sneeze or cough on you.
This is a bit misleading. Droplets of saliva containing the virus from a sneeze or cough can travel through the air but the virus itself is not floating around in the atomosphere. Once the droplets fall to the ground or another surface, so does the virus.
Uh, what makes you this? I don’t profess to know the number of viruses contained in a cough/sneeze versus a lick but they are equally as dangerous in terms of method of infection.
You are correct about the droplets, but the droplets are in the air when they are inhaled which is the most common form of transmission as I understand it.
I got the second part from a doctor/expert on TV who said that you don’t get COVID-19 from ingesting the virus but from inhaling it into your lungs. So eating food covered with the virus isn’t as dangerous as inhaling it according to him.
My understanding is specifically not that, and that the most common mode of transmission is from your own hands, carried to your face – simply because in most situations you are more likely to encounter a contaminated surface and touch it than you are to get it passed directly from the air.
Droplets do not need to be inhaled; just find a way into your mucous via the eyes, nose and/or mouth. The very process of eating something means it makes contact with your mouth and saliva and is a very good way to get infected. It might not be as dangerous as inhaling it but that’s like saying snorting cocaine isn’t as dangerous as injecting it. Maybe not, but the chances of both fucking you up is pretty good.
Wrong. I believed the coughing/sneezing/touching face stuff, too. Turns out simply breathing can transmit the virus, according to Dr. Michael Osterholm, one of the leading experts on infectious disease and public health in the US. (Check out his credentials.)
It is, he says, “Very, very infectious through the air.”
I highly recommend watching the Joe Roganinterview. It’s very informative.
Is merely touching your face a risk? I assume it’s only an issue if you touch your mouth, nose or eyes. It’s not like the virus can crawl or anything. Assuming I’m not sweating or something.