Graphic Demonstration: How Easily Do Germs Spread?

In less than a quarter of a year, COVID-19 has revolutionized our way of life and our customs. While authorities and experts seek to maximize social distancing and containment to flatten the curve, the public absorbs more and more information about the coronavirus, and other viruses in general. A particularly difficult detail to visualize is the ease with which they spread, but YouTuber Mark Rober comes to the rescue with several experiments…

The Problem

The message is repeated almost daily in a loop: Don't go out if you don't have to. Keep distance from others. Wash your hands frequently, using water and soap first, and alcohol as a complement. But there is another element in that message that may be the most important and complicated: Don't touch your face. On average, a person touches their face 16 times an hour, and that's all the current virus needs (not just the coronavirus) to enter the body. It's impossible for it to make us sick through hands and skin (except for an open wound), but if it reaches the nose or mouth... that’s all, folks.

Another problem is that we cannot see any virus. SARS-CoV-2 measures between 50 and 200 nanometers in diameter (the same as a processor transistor measured some years ago), but what we can do is simulate its presence with the help of other substances that become visible under the right conditions. YouTuber Mark Rober, known for his glitter traps for thieves and his study of carnival games, conducted several experiments in a school to verify how easily a pathogen spreads in real life:

The Results

The answer is... very easy. With the help of a special powder called Glo-Germ, a teacher, an accomplice student, and a black light, Mark verified during lunch that the simulated virus was on tables, the floor, doorknobs, phones... and other students! Also, some viruses can survive on hard surfaces for more than a week, waiting for someone to pick them up. At the same time, washing your hands doesn't help much if immediately after you touch something contaminated (for example, your smartphone).

Here arises the importance of not touching your face. All he had to do was illuminate the teacher's face with the black light to verify that it was completely covered with Glo-Germ. Even Mark himself couldn't resist. For a long time he believed he had avoided touching himself directly, but when checking his recordings and using the black light, he ended up surprised. All this serves to remind us of the importance of prevention, while Rober's final message is logical and reasonable: We must take COVID-19 seriously, but there is no need to panic.