A study by scientists from the University of Southampton has examined the chances of catching COVID-19 in a train carriage carrying an infectious person.
A study by scientists from the University of Southampton has examined the chances of catching COVID-19 in a train carriage carrying an infectious person.
Based on high-speed routes in China, researchers from WorldPop found that for train passengers sitting within three rows (widthwise) and five columns (lengthwise) of an infected person (index patient) between zero and ten percent (10.3) caught the disease. The average rate of transmission for these ‘close contact’ travellers was 0.32 percent.
The study, in collaboration with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, China Academy of Electronics and Information Technology, and Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, also showed that passengers travelling in seats directly adjacent to an index patient suffered the highest level of transmission, with an average of 3.5 percent contracting the disease. For those sitting on the same row, the figure was 1.5 percent.
The ‘attack rate’ for each seat – the number of passengers in a given seat diagnosed with COVID-19, divided by the total number of passengers travelling in the same seat – increased by 0.15 percent for every hour that a person travelled with an index patient. For those in adjacent seats, this rate of increase was higher at 1.3 percent per hour.
Read more at University of Southampton
Photo Credit: DesignOil via Pixabay
