How to stay safe from COVID-19 when you're meeting people outside - Business Insider

Here are some answers about the risks outdoors.It's true that the wind helps disperse respiratory droplets that can carry viruses.When you're indoors, one of the big concerns about how the coronavirus spreads is aerosols — tiny, light droplets people emit along with larger droplets when they breathe. When and where each person was infected isn't known, but several behaviors at the Rose Garden ceremony raised the risk of getting or sharing the virus.The first problem with this scene: Very few people were wearing face masks.With no mask, infectious people can be shedding the virus when they talk and there is nothing to stop the respiratory droplets. Or you might talk to someone else who is infectious for several minutes and inhale more virus particles.All it takes is one person in the peak infectious period — the 24 to 48 hours before and after symptoms start — to spark a superspreader event.Face masks lower your risk of getting infected, and they also reduce the amount of virus you're spreading if you're infected.If you're running or walking, carry a mask with you.