The next time you’re out for your daily exercise, keep an eye out for runners as it can be hard to practice social distancing with people darting around you.
And, there can be an increased risk of germs passing onto you from runners, as reported by news.com.au.
According to Dr. Norman Swan, there is an increased risk of joggers sharing their bodily secretions as they run past.
“If joggers invade your personal space they are flicking whatever secretions they’ve got,” he said on ABC’s Coronacast.
While there isn’t currently any evidence that suggests that COVID-19 has been found in sweat, Dr. Swan did point out that it has been discovered in faeces and other bodily fluids.
But, sweat isn’t the only thing to watch out for.
“Sweat isn’t the only secretion you emit when you’re in physical extremist jogging down the road,” he said.
“As you’re breathing up and breathing fast, if you’ve got virus there you are more likely to be aerosolising it.
“When I’m out running I steer clear of other people and I certainly steer clear of runners coming towards me because these in a sense project that bigger tidal volume, that bigger depth of breathing and rapid breathing, if they had COVID-19 then they could actually be spraying it out more than normal.”
Another thing to watch out for is spitting, which some runners do while out jogging.
“COVID-19 is spread by respiratory droplets when a person coughs or sneezes, and transmission may occur when these droplets enter the mouths, noses, or eyes of people who are nearby,” Amy Treakle, an infectious disease specialist with the Polyclinic in Seattle, told fitness publication Bicyling.
“Spit contains saliva but could also contain sputum from the lungs or drainage from the posterior nasopharynx.”
So, if you’re a runner, please be aware of everyone’s personal space and try to leave 1.5 metres between you and others during your run. Everyone else, keep your eyes peeled!
The current health crisis is evolving rapidly. If you suspect you or a family member has coronavirus you should call (not visit) your GP or ring the national Coronavirus Health Information Hotline on 1800 020 080.
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