Is the beach safe and can I catch the virus from air conditioning?

QAm I safe from the virus when out at the beach?

AWith the virus still in circulation, it is impossible to guarantee that anyone, anywhere in the UK, is safe from infection.

But studies show that being outdoors dramatically reduces your risk, because droplets sent into the air by an infected person get rapidly dispersed by even the slightest breeze.

Research from Japan found that only 12.5 per cent of Covid-19 patients had passed the virus to others by socialising outdoors.

Other studies show that, in roughly 75 per cent of cases, the virus is spread indoors.

However, on Friday, the UK’s Chief Medical Officer, Professor Chris Whitty warned that overcrowding on beaches could spark a rise in cases, after swarms of revellers flocked to Bournemouth in Dorset.

Professor Keith Neal, an expert in infectious disease at Nottingham University, says: ‘It’s unlikely the virus will be spread on the beach – even if it’s slightly crowded.

‘However, the risk will increase significantly if people sit right next to each other, share towels and utensils, and drink alcohol. You’re more likely to abandon social distancing rules if inebriated.’

Prof Neal advises choosing a quiet beach, using your own towel and staying one metre apart from those not in your household.

‘And if you lie on your back or front, any infectious particles expelled from the nose or mouth will either fall to the ground in front of you, or be carried away by the air, rather than hitting another person in the face,’ he adds.

QADoes air conditioning increase the risk of catching the virus? Probably not. Fears were raised early in the pandemic after one study blamed a small outbreak in China on a restaurant’s air con – which the researchers suggested caused the spread.

However, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control says that if air-conditioning units are well-maintained they will filter out coronavirus droplets from the atmosphere, stopping them from circulating.

According to Government guidance, the risk of air conditioning spreading coronavirus is ‘extremely low’.