A South Korean high school student contracted the new coronavirus within five minutes from someone 20 feet away while eating indoors, a new study shows.
The case could not initially be traced to a contact because no cases of infection had been reported for a month in Jeollabuk Province, where the restaurant is located, the New York Post reported, citing the Journal of Korean Medical Science.
The high school senior had not traveled outside the country in recent weeks, but cellphone GPS data showed she had brief contact at a restaurant with a saleswoman who had contracted New Crown.
Both cases have been confirmed to be from the same virus, the researchers said.
The team of experts reportedly recreated the restaurant scene together and were surprised to find that the two were sitting so far apart.
Surveillance video showed that the two men never talked to each other or touched the same dishes, cutlery or any other surface, but it was clear from the movement of the lighting that the air conditioning was on at the time. Researchers also measured airflow throughout the restaurant.
The expert said, “Incredibly, despite sitting far away, the airflow went down the wall, creating a valley of wind. People along that line were infected. Our conclusion is that it was a droplet transmission that spread more than six feet.”
The findings suggest the student was likely infected within a five-minute window of time when she was sitting 20 feet from the saleswoman.
Marr, an engineering professor at Virginia Tech, said, “The student must have inhaled a large dose of aerosols, which are about 50 microns, within five minutes. Large aerosols or small droplets overlap in the gray area, and if the airflow is strong, the disease may spread over a distance of one to two meters (3.3 to 6.6 feet).”
Marr said the study illustrates the risks of indoor dining and suggests that a 6-foot distance from others may not be enough.
Marr said: “Eating in a restaurant during a new crown pandemic is one of the most dangerous things you can do. As this study and others have shown, even if you keep your distance, distance is not enough.”
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