COVID risks higher from small indoor events than large outdoor ones: research

COVID risks higher from small indoor events than large outdoor ones: research Outdoor events are safer than indoor events in regards to potential COVID-19 transmission, according to a newly released comparative study of two hypothetical events in Austin, Texas. A study from the University of Texas and the city of Austin considered the COVID-19 transmission risks at two events: a business conference with 3,000 attendees during a… YahooNews

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A study from the University of Texas and the city of Austin considered the COVID-19 transmission risks at two events: a business conference with 3,000 attendees during a pandemic surge and an outdoor festival with 50,000 attendees in a low transmission period.

Despite the attendance at the hypothetical outdoor festival being more than 10 times higher than at the indoor business conference, the study’s authors estimated that the festival would result in the infection of only twice as many people in the community during and after the event.

To calculate the COVID-19 risks from the two events, they considered multiple factors: the structure of the event, including its size, duration, density and venue; the state of the pandemic, including the local prevalence of the virus and the epidemiological properties of current variants; any risk-reduction measures introduced by event organizers; and local demographics. ...