Status: December 18, 2020 5:57 p.m.
Flow researchers from Göttingen have studied the spread of aerosols in a fully occupied ICE wagon. Your result: the mask and distance reduce the risk of corona infection.
The researchers from the German Aerospace Center (DLR) found this out in an ICE test wagon of Deutsche Bahn. This was fully occupied with 74 dummies, one of them was infected with corona according to the experimental arrangement. If the infected person coughs, sneezes, speaks or breathes, droplets and the much smaller aerosols, which are the main route of transmission of the coronavirus, are distributed in the air. With the help of gases, the researchers made the breath clouds visible and were thus able to track the spread.
Fewer aerosols are distributed with a mask
The researchers investigated how the droplets and aerosols spread with and without a mouth and nose covering. The result: If the infected person wears a mask, fewer aerosols are distributed in the wagon and over a smaller area. “This realization underscores the need to carry them on the train and to keep them as far as possible from fellow passengers,” says a DLR announcement. “A well-fitting mask is an absolute must – and the greatest possible distance. These are the best ways to protect yourself,” said DLR flow researcher Daniel Schmeling in an interview with NDR 1 Lower Saxony.
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