Airborne SARS-CoV2 virus exposure, interpersonal distance, face mask and perceived risk of infection.

ABSTRACT: Participants judged the risk of an infection during a face to face conversation at different interpersonal distances from a SARS-CoV-2 infected person who wore a face mask or not, and in the same questionnaire answered questions about Corona related issues. Keeping a distance to an infected person serves as a protective measure against an infection. When an infected person moves closer, risk of infection increases. Participants were aware of this fact, but underestimated the rate at which the risk of infection increases when getting closer to an infected person, e.g., from 1.5 to 0.5 m (perceived risk increase = 3.33 times higher, objective = 9.00 times higher). This is alarming because it means that people can take risks of infection that they are not aware of or want to take, when they a

SUBMITTER: Svenson O 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10821858 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature