How risky is the aerosol form of the COVID virus?

How risky is the aerosol form of the COVID virus?

A little more than than the droplets. The droplets are most dangerous because they carry a lot of the virus. Sneezes, coughs, and loud vocalizing produce pretty good sized globs of mouth moistures that are really bad when we get a load of them. But if we do not get them pretty directly, they are heavier than air and drop pretty fast to the ground/floor and, so far, appear to lose their dangerousness almost right away.

The virus also ride on tiny drops of vapor, the kind of moisture you see in the winter when your breath condenses in the air. In warm weather, you never see those tiny droplets, but they still come out of us all the time when we breath. What we do not see in the winter is how the microscopic droplets hang around us for awhile and hang in the air for as much as three hours before finally dropping to the grounds/floor.

A better analogy than winter breathing-steam is cigarette smoke. You know who is a smoker when you get within a foot or two (or more for some of us non-smokers). The virus hangs around an infected person like the cigarette smell hangs around a smoker.

Staying away from others by presuming everyone else is infected is the safest strategy. The six foot social distancing is very good because the mist of virus loaded micro-drops around the asymptomatic or otherwise infected person is about three feet wide, the farther into the mist globe you may move accidentally, the more risk. Literally close your eyes, hold your breath, and move on!

That's why it is so bad to be in an enclosed room with lots of people or even In close proximity with a lot of people. Imagine being stuck in a room with all smokers, even if none is actually smoking!

Being outside with people staying three or more feet away and everyone moving so they are not staying in one place into which a puff of virus micro mist could invade and hover, the risk is really quite low. So far, the demonstrations have not caused any significant infections where being on a crowded beach has been s serious risk.

Now if you add a mask, your chances of becoming infected outside anywhere drop to near zero. Being in a store with few others near you leaves you almost complete risk free, especially if the workers are masked. If they aren't, cover your eyes as well as nose and mouth!

I leave my sunglasses on all the time when I am out of the house, even in stores. They are not as good as a full-face gas mask or a face shield but they cut the risk.

Stay safe, don't touch your face, keep social distancing, wash your hands, and when getting close to anyone, realize they have this halo of micro mist (just like you do and like all smokers do!).