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Expanding Your Social Bubble
Guidelines from Dr Wu

Updated 6/4/2020

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Our city went on quarantine as of 3/16/2020 due to the increasing numbers of coronavrius cases in New York City, which some argue was 1-3 weeks too late. As we slowly emerge from the Stay-At-Home order (named "New York Pause"), there have been not been a lot of guidance surrounding it. I also noticed that many of our patients have begun to suffer new onset of stress, anxiety, depression, and other psychological impact from social isolation. In those cases, we have to find a way to safely expand the social quarantined bubble as the city slowly lifts its restrictions. 

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Coronavirus is a biological entity - and while it is still early (the world only learned about it at the end of December to January of 2020), there are a few things we know likely to be true of this virus:

  1. It spreads quickly and easily between people - in some cases, coronavirus can be airborne, ie, suspended in air for up to 3 hours, depending on the viral load of the infected or asymptomatic individuals
     

  2. Universal masking works in reducing the spread of the virus
     

  3. ​The incubation period is about average 2-12 days total, with the median being 5.1 days.
     

  4. People with conditions like obesity (calculate your BMI here), diabetes, heart problems like high blood pressure, lung disease like COPD, kidney problems, immunocompromised conditions do worse when they get sick with coronavirus
     

  5. People who are over 65 fare worse when they contract coronavirus, with higher mortality (death) rates.

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These are the things we know are PROBABLY true: (keep checking here to make sure it's still true)

  1. It's less likely to catch coronavirus outside, though you should still socially distance
     

  2. There is some evidence that the virus can spread by indirect transmission - ie, an infected person touches something, you touch that item, and bring your hands to your face without washing them. So it still makes sense to keep washing your hands, and to clean high touch surfaces (doorknobs, elevator buttons, bathroom surfaces).

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