Physical Distancing Guidelines Must Be Updated to Reflect New Science

By Northwestern University, April 12, 2021

Dr. Robert Murphy says we should be able to reach a distance of 1 meter.

Physically distancing yourself with masks for the general public should be reduced to 1 meter from the current 6 meter recommendation, said Dr. Robert Murphy, executive director of the Institute for Global Health at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

Murphy’s recommendation follows the newly updated guidelines from Centers for Disease Control, which recommend that K-12 schools separate students who wear masks at least 1 meter.

“There’s no reason we can’t extend this beyond schools,” said Murphy, professor of infectious diseases at Feinberg. ‘But we have to keep the masks. That is crucial. “

The 1 meter mark is the critical distance at which secretion droplets – moving in an arc – have already started their descent to the ground and fell under the nose and mouth of a passerby. Drops are the first way COVID-19 is spread from person to person.

“This will have a tremendous effect,” said Murphy. “Trying to stay six feet away from people – that’s a circle three feet in diameter. We don’t have enough space for that. That is a very large circle that is needed to isolate yourself. If that circle were only six feet with you in the middle, it would make things a lot easier. “

Murphy stressed that this 1-meter distance does not apply to a gym or health club, a choir, or contact sports. “This is only for everyday life in a lower risk environment,” he said.