OUT THERE ZONE

(but get out there!)

walkers in Italy have reported mixed signals about whether they’re allowed to exercise outside. And running in Spain is totally banned.)

“Expectorant can remain in the air when it’s not moving for up to three hours, such as in a closed room. But the studies show that the virus is 18 times less likely to be transmitted in open air,” she said.

For runners, who again, are habitual spitters, there’s a difference between a silent suburban trail and a packed city park.

“If I’m running in New

Rochelle, where I live, and there’s nobody on the street — even though it’s a ‘hot zone’ — it’s different than if I’m in Prospect Park around a lot of people. You could spit in the grass and know that nobody’s going to be around for a long time. Let’s try to not spit if you’re in a dense urban area exercising,” she emphasized.

And there’s a difference between thoughtlessly snotrocketing and getting it to the ground.

“If you must spit, try to move yourself to a wooded area or off the side of the road, and get it to the ground. That way, you’re not putting your saliva in the air, get to the ground,” she said. She added that aerosolization is most likely from a cough, which runners also frequently do.

“Then take your shoes off at the door when you get home, completely strip down and take a shower.”

On that note, while I’m not a cyclist, I wondered: Is a bicycle a gross vector of disease that you could be storing in a cramped apartment? The answer is basically yes. Khan pointed to a New England Journal of Medicine article published Tuesday.

“That demonstrated that especially on stainless steel and plastic, the virus can hang out for more than one day. You should be wiping down your bike with an alcohol-based solvent like a Lysol wipe. Basically every time you touch the bike you should wash your hands and wipe the bike because indeed, the viral particles can remain on the bike.”

Every activity has its own level of risk right now, and Khan wanted to point out one more.

“People are going to virtual workout platforms, and that’s great. The trick with that is for people to make sure that if you live in a crowded apartment building and you have friends, that you’re not exercising in your living room together. If you’re exercising at home, do it within your own family unit.”