KPT: PEARL OF THE DAY: Avoid the High-Risk Stuff

As reopening unfolded around the country it became quickly apparent that the way it was conceived in most places was based on economics and politics rather than health and safety and we are seeing the effects of that now with a large swell in the wave of infections.  COVID-19 seems to be spread primarily by exhaling and inhaling viral aerosols.  Those aerosols are produced when people exhale forcefully, speak, sing, or shout and can hang in the air for hours in enclosed spaces that are not well-ventilated.  If an infected person in a waiting room or store aisle removes their face-covering to make a phone call, they will fill the air around them with viral aerosols that can infect those around them or the next person to enter that air space.  A person breathing hard on a treadmill or spin bike will create an aerosol plume around them that can endanger others.  Choir practice, religious services, bars, and restaurants are places/events where people are talking, shouting, singing, etc., typically without adequate (or any) face-coverings and these are very high-risk environments for disease spread.  Don't do it.  Even if you live in a place that has reopened to allow such things, I strongly recommend that you avoid them at all costs.