Below you’ll find specific instances asked about on social media.
Chris Kemp, M.S.:
Hot yoga…We’ve been researching how the spread may multiply when in a room with a single speaker for over 30 minutes, and its potential exponential effects.
A hot yoga class clearly represents a risk. It provides perfect conditions for viral transmission. I wouldn't consider it without at least knowing more about the studio's mitigation strategies in detail and, even then, I don't see how they're good enough. You'd need masks on everyone, social distancing, improved airflow, and pre-class symptom monitoring. Seems like an excessive risk in an environment that provides all the right conditions for infection.
Question on behalf of an auto repair shop wanting to minimize risk to workers and customers: What are the exposure risks inside of people’s cars? Is it necessary for the workers to wear a mask when inside customers’ vehicles? Sanitizing interiors could ruin leather and other surface materials, yet there are several points of contact (doors, steering wheel, seatbelt, etc.). Employees wash their hands before and after getting into a vehicle and they distance inside the shop, but we also have a combined office/waiting room where we cannot physically distance (same for many similar repair shops).
I think it is necessary to wear masks inside customers' cars. The exposure risks are difficult to quantify, so rely on strategies that limit risk. Clorox wipes or an equivalent product should sanitize the surfaces you’re able to use them on adequately. My suggestion for waiting rooms is to close them temporarily, or strictly limit the number of people allowed in the waiting area at a time so that they can maintain social distancing. Yes, it's inconvenient but there are lots of inconveniences at this time, and some of them aren't worth ignoring.
At our bike shop, we’re taking a lot of time to sanitize after test rides, and are considering opening up the bike rental portion of our business. Can we realistically do this safely?
All activities carry risk. Can you guarantee complete safety? Definitely not. Can you try to mitigate risk? Yes. Wear masks always, maintain social distance, try to make payment and all other aspects of the business contactless, thoroughly sanitize bikes between customers. Let your customers know what you’re doing, so they take some responsibility for the risk.
What’s the prediction on when we’ll be able to safely date? Should we plan for a “new dating normal,” and if so, what do you think it will look like?
Unfortunately, activities like dating will really be impacted until we have a dependable vaccine to the virus, and any other answer is unrealistic. At the very least, the "new dating normal" should include real honest conversations about risk, concerns, and whether each of you is in the same place and taking the same approach to the virus regarding masks, and social distancing, and other measures. Not romantic, I know.
Alison Bernstein, Ph.D.:
The general guidelines apply in all these cases. There are good hygiene practice — wearing masks all the time and physical distancing as much as possible. Hygiene involves frequent cleaning and disinfecting of surfaces that may have been contaminated and frequent hand washing/sanitizing. Mandating mask wearing can be hard, even if your local or state government has already mandated this, because enforcement is difficult. But high compliance on mask wearing is one of our best defenses against this pandemic. Physical distancing should be practiced as much as possible, but needs for distancing can be reduced if compliance on everything else is high.
CDC has guidelines for a variety of specific activities and institutions here https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/index.html
Personally, I cannot imagine going back to any sort of group fitness class any time soon. I normally do a yoga class once a week, and Orange Theory twice a week. I will not be going back to these in the near future. If they mandate masks and limit enrollment and our local R is below 1, I might be comfortable going back, but as of right now, you couldn’t pay me enough to take this risk.
For auto repair shops, given everything we talked about with surfaces and fomites, the risk of exposure from the car interior is relatively low especially if the car sits for a while before an employee enters the car. Time is your friend here.
Points of high contact - steering wheels, seatbelts, door handles - should be wiped down. Even if disinfectant would damage surfaces, it is important to remember that soap is also effective at disrupting the coronavirus and the physical action of wiping can also remove viruses. If employees wear masks to protect each other and protect customers, wipe down surfaces when the car arrives, wash their hands after touching those high contact surfaces and avoid touching their faces, it seems possible to mitigate most of the risks.
The combined office/waiting room might need to be closed, access limited, or mask wearing and regular disinfecting strictly enforced. Thinking creatively about how to use these spaces is important at this time.
I would rent a bike if everyone was wearing a mask and I could wipe down the bike before taking it out.
I think there will be a new normal for everything, including dating. It seems a lot to ask for a two-week quarantine prior to a first date, but in the absence of regular testing this is the only guarantee that one person is not infected. There might be a lot more getting to know each other remotely prior to meeting in person and a discussion of what measures you are each taking.
Date activities could be planned with the same concerns in mind as every other activity, according to the risk categories outlined in this Vox graphic:
Perhaps a socially distanced walk with masks, a picnic. This is obviously easier in the summer and will be more difficult as the weather turns colder.
The question of physical intimacy is much more difficult because, by definition, this violates all rules of physical distancing. Ideally, dating interactions should be approached with the same precautions as all your other interactions. This obviously makes spontaneity difficult.