With California advising residents to limit outdoor gatherings to no more than three households to stop the spread of COVID-19, there are questions about the reasoning behind this formula. Reporter Heather Clisby has details …
COVID-19 has claimed the lives of over 17,000 Californians so the State is offering guidelines for social gatherings to reduce virus fatalities. Health orders have decreed that outdoor gatherings be limited up to three households.
In general, social gatherings should only be held in rare cases when video conferencing is not available. There is strong evidence that the longer people from different households congregate and the closer they are in proximity, the higher the infection risk. Gathering indoors pose a higher risk due to confined airspace so outdoor gatherings with lots of fresh air are preferable.
Social gatherings enable virus spread due to laughing, loud talking, and minimal distancing. Limiting numbers at a gathering helps reduce this risk while making it easier to conduct contact tracing, if need be.
The CDC estimates that the average person with COVID-19 infects two to four people when there are no preventative measures. After 10 transmission cycles, one individual could infect 1,024 other people with the virus. That COVID-19 can be spread by asymptomatic individuals makes it hard to control.
