COVID-19 Travels 4 Meters? SCMP

China has identified more than 80,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases, almost three times more than the rest of the world. The high numbers permit research that aids understanding the disease's spread. Officials advise keeping a safe distance up to 2 meters meter or 6 feet. Yet researchers tracked infections during a January 22 bus trip and suggest a bus passenger with symptoms infected travelers sitting 4 meters away. Other passengers were not wearing masks. “China requires closed circuit television cameras to be installed on all long-distance buses, which provided valuable footage for researchers to reconstruct the spread of the virus on the bus, whose windows were all closed,” reports Stephen Chen for South China Morning Post. Original passengers disembarked, and new ones arrived, some of whom became infected. In all, 11 passengers contracted the disease, but not passengers sitting next to the carrier. The researchers suggest that an enclosed space may be the culprit: If a greater distance cannot be maintained, face masks may be in order. They recommend regular cleanings of public transport vehicles and increased fresh air. – YaleGlobal