Many have seen this cartoon simulation from the Washington Post:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/world/corona-simulator/

Taking the idealized math a step further, a lot of employers may not understand that minimizing the work force has an exponential effect on infection rates. For example, if we assume that all collisions involve two people, the kinetics would be 2nd order. This means that cutting the number of people in half will reduce the number of collisions (infection rate) by a factor of 4. I am suggesting that companies who need people on site divide into 2 teams, with a cleaning between shifts, with intervals lasting days or weeks.

Also, I will point out that the movement of the particles to fill the available space may be viewed as a model of diffusion. In chemistry, this is stated by saying that gas particles will fill the available volume. The process is zero order. This means that we cannot stop the rate of virus spreading geographically, but we can affect the infection rate, as well as the total number of infections, as shown by the area under the curves in the WaPo graphs.

These are idealized models, but if you grasp the basic math, it becomes easier to make informed decisions.

94chem said:

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Many have seen this cartoon simulation from the Washington Post:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/world/corona-simulator/

Taking the idealized math a step further, a lot of employers may not understand that minimizing the work force has an exponential effect on infection rates. For example, if we assume that all collisions involve two people, the kinetics would be 2nd order. This means that cutting the number of people in half will reduce the number of collisions (infection rate) by a factor of 4. I am suggesting that companies who need people on site divide into 2 teams, with a cleaning between shifts, with intervals lasting days or weeks.

Also, I will point out that the movement of the particles to fill the available space may be viewed as a model of diffusion. In chemistry, this is stated by saying that gas particles will fill the available volume. The process is zero order. This means that we cannot stop the rate of virus spreading geographically, but we can affect the infection rate, as well as the total number of infections, as shown by the area under the curves in the WaPo graphs.

These are idealized models, but if you grasp the basic math, it becomes easier to make informed decisions.

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Great in theory, except we aren't random particles bouncing around the earth. We have order, schedules, and regular interaction with the same particles.

And when we do interact with foreign particles it's for shorter periods of time over longer distances with less direct contact.

GE said:

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Here is what I would like to know:

1. A customer at HEB who has CV sneezes into his hand, wipes it off with a dry tissue until the hand is completely dry to the touch, and then with his now dry hand opens the refrigerator section door to get some milk.

2. I open that same door grabbing it in the same spot as him 15 minutes later.

3. I pick up 20 or 30 other items and put them in my cart, opening several more freezer/fridge doors along the way.

4. I check out, removing my wallet from my pants pocket, swiping my credit card, and touching the screen to approve the amount.

5. I walk out of the store, get in my car, drive home, and unload the groceries.

Which of these items would carry enough of a load of CV to actually cause problems and which of these would basically be just fine?

- The original fridge door handle that the CV-positive person grabbed
- The other fridge and freezer doors that I opened
- The rest of the items in my shopping cart
- My wallet
- My pants pocket
- My credit card
- The credit card reader screen
- My car door handle
- My steering wheel
- The doorknob to my house

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This is how my brain works and my brain definitely wants to know how this works.

Ditto, except we aren't ordering any takeout.

GE said:

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Here is what I would like to know:

1. A customer at HEB who has CV sneezes into his hand, wipes it off with a dry tissue until the hand is completely dry to the touch, and then with his now dry hand opens the refrigerator section door to get some milk.

2. I open that same door grabbing it in the same spot as him 15 minutes later.

3. I pick up 20 or 30 other items and put them in my cart, opening several more freezer/fridge doors along the way.

4. I check out, removing my wallet from my pants pocket, swiping my credit card, and touching the screen to approve the amount.

5. I walk out of the store, get in my car, drive home, and unload the groceries.

Which of these items would carry enough of a load of CV to actually cause problems and which of these would basically be just fine?

- The original fridge door handle that the CV-positive person grabbed
- The other fridge and freezer doors that I opened
- The rest of the items in my shopping cart
- My wallet
- My pants pocket
- My credit card
- The credit card reader screen
- My car door handle
- My steering wheel
- The doorknob to my house

---

The BBC interviewed a disease specialist in Hong Kong who said that "prolonged contact" with an infected person is required to spread the disease and transmission through surfaces, while possible, is unlikely. He also said that a brief interaction with an infected person was unlikely to spread it.

If all it took was being in the same room or interacting with someone then every single person at CPAC would have been infected.

Also for those not aware there were pictures of an infected person shaking hands with multiple GOP politicians who tested negative.