Just curious, we keep reading that you need a certain viral load to become infected, meaning a short ride in an elevator is less risk than a face to face 20 minute conversation..

My question:

How would spending time with someone who is infected for 5 minute intervals 4 times spread evenly across a day/12 hours (20 total minutes) compare to spending the same 20 minutes face to face 1 time?

Does the time spent compound or reset over some given period?

Another way to look at it might be ... can a short interaction stay with you and grow with more interactions to the point where you become infected...

A bit hard to put in words but you probably get the point.

Thanks in advance.

this virus certainly doesn't follow logic but I would think even brief encounters multiple times per day would still raise your chances of catching it.

one 5 min encounter < multiple 5 min encounters < one 20 min encounter

Yes this is why we are mostly only seeing retail workers getting sick and not all the retail shoppers. Lots of brief interactions provide the same impact of one long exposure.