A year into the pandemic, it’s safer outside
The photos of Clearwater Beach, Fla., went viral last spring: people crowded on the sand, seemingly unconcerned about the deadly new contagion coursing across the world. Local officials, accused of fueling a public health crisis, quickly shut 35 miles of county beaches and left them closed for weeks.
What a difference a year makes. The beaches were even busier this year, but officials say there were no talks of closure. There was also far less outcry.
And with good reason, according to many scientists and public health experts, who say that the outdoor spaces now warming under spring sun should be viewed as havens in the battle against a stubborn virus and restriction-induced fatigue.
Beaches and parks “are some of the safest places you can gather,” said Linsey Marr, an expert on airborne virus transmission at Virginia Tech. “Outdoors now is even safer than before, because we have more people who are vaccinated and who have already had COVID-19.”
Evidence that the coronavirus transmitted less effectively outside emerged early in the pandemic.
And as the nation settles into its second year with the virus, that understanding is increasingly recognized in public policies.
Ballparks are welcoming fans. Open-air graduations and county fairs are being planned. Outdoor gathering limits are rising or being dropped altogether. The playgrounds and public lands that were off-limits last spring are mostly open.
Even so, public health guidance about the outdoors remains cautious: Stay distanced, avoid crowds and wear a mask — even on beaches and trails.
Experts say that is because it remains unclear precisely how much less risky outdoor activities are, in part because it is so difficult to trace contacts of strangers who were near each other at public events. More contagious variants are also “working against us,” Marr said.
What’s more, some lower-risk outdoor activities, such as beachgoing or partially filled stadiums, are often connected to far riskier ones, like public transportation or visiting bars. When Miami Beach imposed a curfew last month, officials cast blame on crowds of revelers, not sunbathers.
Nooshin Razani, an associate professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of California at San Francisco, studies the connection between nature and human health, and has long advised park agencies. As the pandemic progressed, Razani said, she realized these agencies needed “a bit more nuanced guidance than just, ‘It’s safer outside,’ ” she said.
In a systematic review of published studies on transmission of the novel coronavirus and other respiratory viruses, Razani and colleagues found that less than 10 percent of cases described were spread outdoors.
But they also found frustratingly few papers that detailed the settings or clearly compared indoor and outdoor situations.
“Our takeaway from this is that it’s not impossible to get an infection outdoors, even though from what is published, clearly the proportion of when that happens is much lower,” Razani said.
She added: “If you are going to a beach — which is a beautiful thing — you should avoid times when it’s crowded, and have your mask, and have a Plan B.”