Don’t hold your breath

There are times when you think the only way to avoid infection or reinfection from Covid-19 is simply to stop breathing. That is probably a bit drastic and entirely self-defeating, as those lungs of yours need to keep working or you will wind up dead.

- BILL RALSTON

A recent RNZ study, albeit a slightly unscientific one, took a carbon-dioxide monitor around a mix of places in Auckland to try to establish areas of high risk for catching the disease. A check on a crowded city bus revealed that the equivalent of one in every seven breaths the reporter took was air others had breathed out. This was a phenomenon charmingly called “backwash”. A check at a school showed that, in a classroom, one in every 33 breaths a kid took would have been expelled by others. Ugh.

Lack of adequate ventilation is the culprit, but as we’re in the depths of winter, the obvious solution of opening a window is a too-chilly option.

Apparently, this means we should stick to wearing masks when in close proximity to others. The problem for me here is that my glasses consistently fog up from my own breath and I blindly blunder about making mistakes like Mr Magoo.