In the time of COVID-19, here’s what ‘close contact’ really means
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Limiting close contact is an important way to help reduce the spread of COVID-19, researchers say.
But, what is really considered “close contact?”
Researchers consider close contact as being less than 6 feet away from a potentially infected person for 15 minutes.
But it’s not just 15 minutes in one sitting. Dr. Christopher Doehring, at Franciscan Health, says there’s more to it.
“One of the criteria for close contact is a total of 15 minutes of time, either in close contact for that duration or cumulative throughout the day. So, if you’re just passing someone or in reasonably close proximity, but it’s for a brief period of time … there shouldn’t be much of a concern,” Doehring said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention echoes Doehring’s statement and considers close contact as “anyone who was within 6 feet of an infected person for a total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period. For example, three individual five-minute exposures for a total of 15 minutes.”
The agency also says a person is still considered in close contact if one or both people were wearing masks during the times they were together.