I recently completed a Johns Hopkins course on coronavirus contact tracing, and would like to pass on some of what I’ve learned, in order to clarify some issues on how best to deal with the pandemic. 

By now, it’s common knowledge that wearing a mask is not for personal protection but to keep others safe, in the event that the wearer has been infected. One-third of people with COVID-19 remain asymptomatic (no observable signs or symptoms) for the duration of their disease. So the bottom line is: You might not know whether you had been infected unless you were tested.  

Each time an infected person exhales, coronavirus is drawn up from the lungs and through the trachea and is expelled, in microscopic (75 micron) droplets of moisture, through the nose and mouth. It is important to note here that since the virus is immersed in droplets, the cloth mask will block its passage!  

Given the fact that droplets have weight, they do not waft through the air like, for instance, mushroom spores, but fall to the ground. Distance traveled depends on the force of one’s breath. Normal discourse limits the transmission to 4 feet; singing or shouting propels it to about 6 feet; and a terrific sneeze could travel as far as 20 feet. (Consider these estimates because, for instance, all bets are off if you’re sitting beneath or beside a recirculating fan.) 

Coronavirus remains virulent on metal or plastic for three days (24 hours on paper or cardboard), so anything that an infected person touches can be considered a source. If you think you’ve touched a questionable surface, keep hands away from your eyes, nose and mouth until you have thoroughly washed them.   

Social distancing remains, to quote
Dr. Anthony Fauci, “the best defense against the pandemic.” 

There are three categories used by contact tracers when interviewing (always by phone, and kept strictly confidential) someone to determine whether they may have been infected by an individual with COVID-19: 

• “Direct physical contact” (self-explanatory);

• “Close contact” (within 6 feet for 15 plus minutes); and

• “Proximate contact” (in the same room for an extended period).  

It’s a virtual certainty that as the holiday season approaches and we congregate more, we will see another (possibly much worse) spike in the pandemic, so until that “magic bullet” vaccine arrives, social distancing remains the best avenue to continued good health.

Alan Johanson
PORT TOWNSEND