2B
Saturday, June 13, 2020
The Observer & Baker City Herald
MAINTAINING SOCIAL DISTANCING WHILE STROLLING
ASYMPTOMATIC VS. PRESYMPTOMATIC
Defining terms
for COVID-19
By Kiersten Willis
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Dreamstime /TNS
Sidewalk etiquette is especially important while social distancing is recommended.
The sidewalk shuffle
■ Walking is a good way to stay fit, but be prepared to step aside for others
someone approaching. She
often crosses to the other side
MINNEAPOLIS — Abigail
of the street as soon as she
Johnson has spent most of her
notices another party com-
adulthood car-free, living in
ing her way, “just to let them
New York for nearly a decade
know, like, ‘Walk in peace, I’m
and then in Uptown Minne-
already far away.’ ”
— Abigail Johnson, chair,
apolis for the past two years.
• Make room if you can:
As chair of the city’s Pedes- Pedestrian Advisory
“Able-bodied folks like myself
Committee in Minneapolis
trian Advisory Committee,
who are in relatively good
she has been encouraged by
health and spry enough to go
how many other walkers she’s
Now that the threat of
jogging have a responsibility
been encountering during the coronavirus has made “a
to make sure that we’re not
pandemic.
seemingly simple navigation inconveniencing people with
“I’m hoping it leads to people so much more complex,” she
more mobility challenges,”
realizing that walking is just recommends that walkers use Lindeke said.
such a wonderful way to do a kindness and common sense
• Forget the hierarchy:
and watch the “sidewalk rage.” Should a parent pushing a
lot of daily activities,” John-
The pedestrian equivalent stroller move over for a kid
son said. “People are slowly
realizing how good walking is of road rage, which has been
learning to bike? Does a dog
for your mental and physical documented by University of walker defer to someone car-
health. You’re combining all
Hawaii researchers, is backed rying a parcel? Don’t bother
these wonderful aspects of
up by Schneider’s survey of
engaging in a complex cal-
trail users, which found that
being with your community,
culus of whose needs trump
in your community. You’re get- roughly 20% of respondents
whose, “Just get out of the
said they reacted to an inter- way,” Johnson said. “It doesn’t
ting exercise, you’re running
errands, and you’re smiling at ference by expressing anger
matter who it is coming at
people face-to-face.”
to the person who caused the you, how physically able
Bill Lindeke, an urban
incident.
they are, who they are, what
geographer in St. Paul who
Following a few simple
they’re doing,” she said. “Do it
pens the Twin City Sidewalks guidelines for sidewalk
for everybody.”
etiquette should help improve
blog, concurs. He calls the
• Dodge adventurously:
walking trend “a silver lining” the experience on city side-
Johnson suggests seeing your
to the crisis, and ticks off a list walks or parkland trails.
walk as an adventure and
of positives: It’s healthy, it’s fun
turning front lawns, boule-
Before you go
and you observe things that
vards and streets into your
• Plan your route: Lindeke personal parkour course. “If
you normally wouldn’t see if
encourages pedestrians to
you’re driving.
you’re physically able, hop in
select less-traveled routes
But one of the things
the grass, jump off the curb,
Lindeke has observed, as have when possible, avoiding the
do a somersault up the steep
so many others out on foot, is city lakes and rivers, as well
hill on the side of your apart-
as other popular areas with
how ill-equipped our side-
ment building — just get out
walks are to handle increased natural amenities. Better to
of the way,” she said.
pedestrian traffi c — especially walk in residential neighbor-
• Queue up and hush up:
hoods around where you live, If you’re in a group, get into
for those trying to social-
or to explore other less-busy
distance.
single fi le as you pass others.
“Our streets and sidewalks areas farther afi eld.
“One of you falls back behind
• Be aware: Pay atten-
aren’t really ideally designed
the other until you pass,”
for a lot of walking,” he said. “A tion to people you’re going to
explained Juliet Mitchell, a
encounter half a block ahead St. Paul etiquette trainer.
lot of cities that are designed
for walking have much wider and those coming up behind
Extend the courtesy even
you. Be especially mindful if
sidewalks than we do in the
further and stop talking
you’re on your phone or have as you pass. While a brief
United States.”
Most residential sidewalks earbuds in. This isn’t really
foray through someone else’s
the time for deep thinking or airspace constitutes a low
in the Twin Cities are about
daydreaming during walks.
5 feet wide — too narrow to
risk for virus transmission,
maintain a 6-foot buffer when “Try not to get too self-ab-
closing your mouth can be
sorbed,” Lindeke said.
parties pass one another. A
a sign of respect. “You are
once-simple stroll can now feel
giving the indication: I can’t
Encountering others
like a real-life version of the
control everything, but I care
video game Frogger, dodging
Give a sign of acknowledg- enough about you to be incon-
other walkers and joggers.
ment: A quick hello, head nod venienced for a few seconds,”
Although professor Ingrid
or smile (for the unmasked) is she said.
Schneider studies recre-
a good way to start. “I think it
• Joggers should hit the
ational trail users’ behaviors
gets people out of their shells streets: Heavy breathing by
and attitudes, some of her
when you have to talk to a
runners can disperse aerosols
research might help us better stranger,” Johnson said. “I
further, increasing the chance
understand these encounters, think you wake up a little in- of spreading infection and
which she’s heard described as side and it softens the edges.” making those around them
“sidewalk chicken.”
• Scoot over: There’s no
anxious. Mask-less runners,
She has been seeing density need to invent a new set of
especially, should consider
and spacing issues on trails
hand signals to indicate your eschewing the sidewalks for
long before the arrival of
intentions, Johnson said. Just low-traffi c streets, Johnson
coronavirus.
move over as soon as you see advised.
By Rachel Hutton
Star Tribune (Minneapolis)
“It doesn’t matter who
it is coming at you, how
physically able they are,
who they are, what they’re
doing. Do it for everybody.”
When confl icts arise
• Don’t scold: If a cyclist
is riding cautiously through
a nearly empty pedestrian
parkway, there’s really no
need to scold them, Johnson
said. Neighbors congregating
on the sidewalk to chat may
not realize they’re blocking
the walking lane — cut them
some slack.
• Say “Excuse me”: If
you have limited mobility
and someone’s in your way,
politely ask for space. Mitchell
suggests saying, “Excuse me,
I’m social-distancing,’?” in a
lighthearted tone.
• Keep walking: If another
person makes a rude com-
ment about your sidewalk
etiquette or social-distancing
practices, Mitchell advises
ignoring the remarks. “Keep
a-steppin’,” she said. “Don’t
give them the satisfaction of
knowing they riled you up.
Don’t give them your energy.
Life’s too short. You don’t have
to always respond. Just notice
it for what it is and keep mov-
ing.”
With evolving updates from the World Health
Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention in Atlanta about the novel coronavirus,
there may be some confusion about the ways it can
spread.
There is a difference between asymptomatic and
presymptomatic spread of the virus, which causes the
disease COVID-19. Here’s a breakdown of the differ-
ences and some questions people might have about
them.
WHO defi nes asymptomatic spread as when trans-
mission occurs by people who do not have symptoms
and will never get them. But these infected carriers
could still get others sick.
Conversely, presymptomatic spread is transmission
by people who don’t look or feel sick but will eventually
get symptoms later.
Can people spread the coronavirus if they don’t have
symptoms?
According to NPR global health correspondent
Jason Beaubien, the answer is yes.
“There’s documented evidence of people who are
not showing any symptoms transmitting this virus to
others,” he told NPR. “And there are studies in labora-
tories that have also found that there’s transmissible
virus in infected people who have not yet gotten sick or
may never get sick with COVID.”
How is it possible to spread the coronavirus
without symptoms?
People can release droplets from their mouths when
they cough or exhale, and that could spread the virus
if someone inhales those droplets.
“When you speak, sometimes you’ll spit a little bit,”
Anne Rimoin, an epidemiology professor at UCLA’s
School of Public Health told CNN. “You’ll rub your
nose. You’ll touch your mouth. You’ll rub your eyes.
And then you’ll touch other surfaces, and then you will
be spreading virus if you are infected and shedding
(the virus).”
Is there a way to tell if someone is
asymptomatic or presymptomatic?
Since both carriers appear and feel normal, you
can’t tell the difference between the two. However,
symptoms will show up in presymptomatic carriers
later on.
“Detailed contact tracing from Taiwan as well as
the fi rst European transmission chain in Germany
suggested that true asymptomatics rarely transmit,”
Babak Javid, a principal investigator at Tsinghua Uni-
versity School of Medicine in Beijing and an infectious
disease consultant at Cambridge University Hospitals,
told the outlet.
“However, those (and many other) studies have found
that paucisymptomatic transmission can occur, and in
particular, in the German study, they found that trans-
mission often appeared to occur before or on the day
symptoms fi rst appeared,” Javid added.
The CDC continues to recommend that people wear
cloth face coverings to help slow the spread of the virus.
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