Murphy’s recommendation follows the new updated guidelines from Centers for Disease Control, which recommended K-12 schools should separate students wearing masks at least 3 feet. “There’s no reason we can’t expand this to outside of the schools,” said Murphy, a professor of infectious diseases at Feinberg. “We must keep the masks, though. That is crucial.” The 3-foot mark is the critical distance at which secretion droplets — which travel in an arc — have already begun their descent to the ground and fallen below the nose and mouth of a passerby. Droplets are the preliminary way COVID-19 is spread from person to person. “This will have a huge effect,” Murphy said. “Trying to keep 6 feet away from people – that is a 12-foot diameter circle. We don’t have enough room for that. That’s a very large circle required to isolate yourself. If that circle was only 6 feet with you in the middle, it would make things a lot easier.” Murphy stressed this 3-foot distance doesn’t apply to a gym or health club, a choir, or contact sports. “This is only for everyday living in a lower risk environment,” he said.
