New research by Dutch and Belgian scientists has concluded cyclists and runners should stay much further apart than the two metres generally recommended to stem the spread of Covid19.
At present the research has little relevance for Ireland as group riding is not taking place due to the social distancing measures in place. There is also a requirement in the Republic of Ireland, though not in the North, for people to exercise within 2km of home and only with people they live with.
However, as Ireland comes out of the crisis the research suggests cyclists and runners should take extra care as their sports may facilitate the spread of the virus.
The slipstream involved in both sports facilitats the transfer of droplets from one runner or cyclist to another behind them, the researchers have found.
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So far the research published has not been refined to
factor in wind conditions and it is not been independently reviewed.
However, academics from KU Leuven in Belgium and Eindhoven University of Technology in Holland who formulated the study have decided to share it now because of the extent of the Covid19 crisis and because in some countries outdoor exercise is not as significantly restricted as in the Republic of Ireland.
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The research concludes that nose and throat/mouth
droplets can spread from a lead cyclist or runner to a person in their
slipstream.
Modeling shared on Twitter by one of the researchers,
below, shows droplets being expelled from a runner to another runner behind
him. The runner behind is covered in droplet spray that remains largely intact
in the short time it takes to reach him through the slipstream.
The modeling showed that even those walking at 4km per
hour could see respiratory droplets, which spread the virus, transferred from
one person to another behind them.
“When you are moving - running, cycling, walking - you are actually creating an area behind you that is often called a slipstream, or a wake,” the study’s coordinator, Bert Blocken, told the Belgian media.
“When people speak, exhale, cough or sneeze they generate
droplets, and while the largest droplets tend to fall to the ground first, the
smaller ones can remain in the air a bit longer, so it is important that a
person who is behind another does not walk into this cloud of droplets.
“The recommended distance of 1.5 metres is very effective when people are moving slowly, but the situation is different when it comes to the active movement in sports,” he said.
The results suggest people running or cycling should stay out of another person’s slipstream and stay much further apart than the advice recommended to the public.
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