No mask? Here's how far your germs can travel
As the country begins to ease stay-at-home restrictions put in place to slow the spread of COVID-19, a new study illustrates why it is important to continue wearing a mask and practicing social distancing.
The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, found that liquid droplets from sneezes, coughs, or just exhaling can sometimes travel up to 26 feet.
According to Lydia Bourouiba, the study's author, floating airborne droplets can stay suspended long enough for someone to walk through them and inhale a virus. Bourouiba is a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who specializes in fluid dynamics.
The full interactive story explaining more about how airborne droplets travel and settle can be found within the Augmented Reality section of the Paste BN app. To access this experience:
- Download the latest version of the Paste BN app on your Android or iOS AR-capable device.
- Open the app, and look for Augmented Reality in Sections at the bottom of your screen.