By submitting a comment, you accept that CBC has the right to reproduce and publish that comment in whole or in part, in any manner CBC chooses. BA.5 caught the attention of public health experts after it quickly displaced the very transmissible BA.1 and BA.2 omicron subvariants. In addition, surfaces may play a greater role in Omicron transmission. But that doesn't mean that being outdoors isn't going to. All Rights Reserved. In that case, they should definitely feel free to wear a mask when in outdoor and more crowded settings. Is BA.2 so contagious that it could transmit there? I do not think that people need to mask outdoors, but there may be situations where someone is extremely vulnerable for example, a cancer patient on chemotherapy and wants to be extra careful. But the likelihood of transmission grew by 6% for every five weeks . "These 'upgrades' in viral performance mean the virus can spread more quickly than prior variants.". It's also not clear exactly how much virus is needed for a productive SARS-CoV-2 infection, Banerjay said, with more research needed. This activity was reviewed by CDC and was conducted consistent with applicable federal law and CDC policy.. No other potential conflicts of interest were disclosed. CNN Sans & 2016 Cable News Network. "It appears that outdoor transmission has become more likely with the newer variants over the past year (i.e., since delta) as they have become more transmissible, but outdoors remains a much. The AR among household contacts with previous SARS-CoV-2 infection was 40.9% (9 of 22) compared with 59.8% (183 of 306) among those without previous infection (p-value=0.08). If you do not allow these cookies we will not know when you have visited our site, and will not be able to monitor its performance. If your own risk tolerance is low, certain outdoor situations could call for masking up. In each instance, infectious amounts of Omicron were recovered for longer amounts of time than the samples of the original virus. What are the implications for public health practice? Ensuring you are able to distance even in an outdoor setting can only help reduce the risk of spread, Roberts stated. Durch Klicken auf Alle akzeptieren erklren Sie sich damit einverstanden, dass Yahoo und unsere Partner Ihre personenbezogenen Daten verarbeiten und Technologien wie Cookies nutzen, um personalisierte Anzeigen und Inhalte zu zeigen, zur Messung von Anzeigen und Inhalten, um mehr ber die Zielgruppe zu erfahren sowie fr die Entwicklung von Produkten. The B.1.1.529 (Omicron) variant, first detected in November 2021, was responsible for a surge in U.S. infections with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, during December 2021January 2022 (1). CDC has updated select ways to operate healthcare systems effectively in response to COVID-19 vaccination. Most index patients (88.4%, 152 of 172) and household contacts (78.7%, 140 of 178) with confirmed cases reported COVID-19compatible symptoms. Cleaning hands at . Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Physical distancing, exposure time, and protective measures can all influence your likelihood of getting infected with COVID-19or avoiding the virus. Sect. But Omicron was a game changer, in more ways than one. A majority of index patients were White (59.0%, 108 of 183), and 21.3% (39 of 183) were Hispanic/Latino. Earlier this week the CDC updated its recommendations to encourage a second COVID-19 booster shot for certain immunocompromised individuals and people over the age of 50 who received an initial booster dose at least 4 months ago. Omicron may hang around longer on surfaces than original virus, early findings suggest | CBC News Loaded. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. Wen: You need to decide whats best for you, with the understanding that one-way masking with an N95 or equivalent works very well that is, even if others around you arent masking, you are still well-protected if you wear a well-fitting, high-quality mask at all times. Two jurisdictions attempted to contact all households on their line lists, and two jurisdictions attempted to contact households on their line lists based on specimen collection date. Wen: The risk of outdoor transmission is very low to the point that its virtually nonexistent. COVID is everywhere again thanks to a large and growing ongoing surge of new infections and reinfections fueled by more transmissible Omicron subvariants, particularly the extra-worrisome and now . Transmission occurred within 67.8% (124 of 183) of households, and the overall AR among household contacts with known status was 52.7% (227 of 431) (Figure 2). Multicomponent COVID-19 prevention strategies, including up-to-date vaccination, isolation of infected persons, and mask use at home, are critical to reducing Omicron transmission in household settings. Experts warn omicron variants can spread more easily outdoors; prior infections provide less immunit. Overall, engaging in outdoor activities is less risky than going to indoor venues. Among the 204 excluded households, 143 did not meet eligibility criteria, 47 were excluded because the index patient could not be identified, 11 were excluded because household contacts had confirmed or probable cases and were known to have a SARS-CoV-2 exposure other than exposure to the index patient, and three were excluded when sequencing results (pending at the time of interview) indicated a variant that was not Omicron. An index patient with a probable COVID-19 case was the first person with onset of any symptom consistent with COVID-19, but without a positive SARS-CoV-2 test confirmation, reported in a household. Terms & Conditions. Vaccinated residents with breakthrough infections were significantly less likely to transmit them: 28% versus 36% for those who were unvaccinated. Household contact ARs ranged from a low of 47.5% (19 of 40) when the index patient was aged 511 years to a high of 72.0% (18 of 25) when the index patient was aged 04 years. The CDC doesn't currently recommend wearing a mask outdoors. ** Persons provided retrospective information about any SARS-CoV-2 testing that they chose and were able to perform. Paxlovid Is Super Promising. CNN: Does it make sense to mask in some situations but not others? How Well Do Rapid COVID Tests Detect Omicron and Its Subvariants? Received a booster dose was defined as having received an additional dose after completion of the primary COVID-19 vaccination series before the index date. Omicron transmission occurred in 124 (67.8%) of 183 households. Wear a mask outdoors if you're going to be in close proximity to others. If it was unclear who within the household was the index patient (e.g., if multiple persons developed COVID-19compatible symptoms in the household on the same day or had the same SARS-CoV-2 exposure) or if household contacts had confirmed or probable cases and were known to have a SARS-CoV-2 exposure to someone other than the index patient, the household was excluded from analyses. Thus, whether someone was tested and how many times they were tested depended on individual and social factors. How Omicron spreads so fast is the question of the moment. Fully vaccinated was defined as completion of the primary vaccination series 2 weeks before the index date and stratified into completion <5 months or 5 months before the index date. Cookies used to track the effectiveness of CDC public health campaigns through clickthrough data. And yes, that holds true for omicron, he believes. Greater COVID transmissibility due to Omicron variants means greater transmissibility in any setting, indoors or outdoorseven if outside is still safer, experts say. Sect. Mutations and natural selection can help subsequent versions of a virus get stronger and stronger in different ways, which seems to be happening with the Covid-19 coronavirus. S&P Index data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. Transmission dynamics of COVID-19 outbreaks associated with child care facilitiesSalt Lake City, Utah, AprilJuly 2020. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2021;70:17314. Are we back to square one with the pandemic? The AR was lower among household contacts of index patients who reported ever wearing a mask at home during their potentially infectious period (39.5%, 88 of 223) compared with household contacts of index patients who reported never wearing a mask at home during this period (68.9%, 124 of 180, p-value<0.01). The risk of outdoor transmission is exponentially lower than indoor transmission, and a well-ventilated, less crowded space also has much lower risk than people packed together in an unventilated space. * Persons self-reported their race (White, Black, Asian, American Indian or Alaska Native, or Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander), ethnicity (Hispanic/Latino or non-Hispanic/Latino), and gender (male or female) from lists of options and had the opportunity to state another option if their race, ethnicity, or gender was not listed. Finally, this investigation occurred during a period when testing and sequencing capacity was strained and when many persons traveled and attended gatherings, increasing the possibility that household contacts had unknown SARS-CoV-2 exposures outside the home (6). The other/multiple race category included American Indian or Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, another race specified by the person not in the provided list, or multiple races. Outdoor transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and other respiratory viruses is possible, but the odds are much lower than indoor transmission, according to a recent study."We wanted to better. What Is the C.1.2 Variant in COVID-19 Cases? Results: Five identified studies found a low proportion of reported global SARS-CoV-2 infections occurred outdoors (<10%) and the odds of indoor transmission was very high compared to outdoors (18.7 times; 95% confidence interval, 6.0-57.9). And, if you dont feel well, stay home. Overall, spending time outside is "a safer mechanism of prevention against COVID" because of the unlimited ventilation. Moreover, the . Coronavirus FAQ: Why are some folks hacking home COVID tests by swabbing their throat. But the same factors that make indoor settings riskycrowded spaces, poor air circulation, the sharing of food and drinkcan also increase your chances of contracting COVID outside. "Being outdoors continues to provide another layer of protection because of the ventilation," Weatherhead explains. If you are attending an outdoor gatheringeven when community levels are medium or lowyou should still be cautious about masking and social distancing, especially in large crowds. Index patients were defined as the first person within each household to recently experience COVID-19compatible symptoms or have a positive SARS-CoV-2 test result. Events, dining, and even entire classrooms were moved outside, when feasible. A simple cloth mask is much less effective, especially against a variant as contagious as BA.2. The questions below are written in past tense to help you assess the likelihood that you were infected when you were around a person with COVID-19. The subvariant made up 74% of new infections as of April 16, 2022. This is the most common transmission. *** Seven days was chosen for this analysis, because 75% of cases occurred 7 days after the index date. Don't they both mean someone without symptoms? With the COVID-19 omicron variant causing another surge in cases, K-12 schools across the United States are faced with the choice of whether to stay with in-person instruction. Outdoor settings were generally considered "safe" during the COVID-19 pandemic. Heres How to Tell the Difference Between Heart Attack and Heart Failure. "That gentle breeze outdoors is generally safer" than indoors, he says. Someone who coughed onto their hand and then touched a door could seed virus there and transmit it to you if you touch. What This Means For You. But he warned the public not to panic, and avoid resorting to heavy-handed precautions. "The virus is fragile; these mutations haven't changed that. However, early evidence suggests that the vast majority of people with some immunity, either from prior COVID infection or vaccination, will continue to be protected from severe illness, according to preliminary research. For those hosting events, Majumder recommended decreasing the amount of attendees at gatherings, a move that can drastically reduce transmission. And in a study of 64 college football games during the 2020 season involving 1,190 athletes, researchers at Texas A&M University found zero spread of COVID during game play based on three postgame PCR tests over the course of a week likely because of the outdoor setting and short duration of close contact, experts say. Did you encounter any technical issues? But Marr stressed the study's conditions don't reflect real-world scenarios. . In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, it felt like thevirus was everywhere and on everything. A probable case in a household contact was the presence of any symptom consistent with COVID-19 during the same 14-day period but without a positive SARS-CoV-2 test confirmation. Please check the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for the most updated recommendations. appreciated. Any information published on this website or by this brand is not intended as a substitute for medical advice, and you should not take any action before consulting with a healthcare professional. It's been almost two years since the world has completely changed thanks to COVID, and while we understand the virus more, people are still catching COVID and cases are spiking in certain areas. Persons who reported any signs or symptoms during the course of their recent illness were considered to have COVID-19compatible symptoms. Surfaces play less of a role than aerosol transmission, but its still good practice to wash your hands well or to use hand sanitizer if you shake peoples hands and touch frequently used surfaces. Longer exposure timeincreasesthe risk of transmission (for example, contact longer than 15 minutes is more likely to result in transmission than two minutes of contact). Fourth, the interval analysis reflected time between dates of a positive test result or symptom onset, not date of infection, and did not account for duration of symptoms and prevention strategies, such as frequency of mask use. That put COVID-19 among the least transmissible human diseases. See the Interactive Home Ventilation Tool. And, while outdoor gatherings are still considered safer, there are some cases in. 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