The new COVID variant and how we should behave to be safe. tl;dr: it hasn't acquired resistance to anything; soap, distancing, masks and fresh air all still work; but we should act like people indoors are giving off more than they were.
First the science: the new variant is surrounded by the same lipid coating so still killed by washing hands with warm water + soap. Infection still carried in the same tiny droplets given off when breathing / talking; fresh air / masks / distance still reduce this transmission.
Difference is in the protein it makes and how it interacts with our bodies. Somehow easier to infect. So, either infected people breathe out more virus, or you need to breathe in less virus to get infected. But the actions we need to take are the same either way.
Before, for people indoors, I'd have suggested doing three out of: open windows; masks; short meeting (<20 minutes); >2m. Each cuts down the levels of virus in the air around five-fold. Now I'd suggest all four to be safe. Previous thread:
https://twitter.com/adsquires/status/1315720942354657283?s=20
Before I'd have said outdoors completely safe ("1m plus"); now I'd make sure to stay 2m away or wearing a mask if sitting outside talking to someone. But going for a walk together still safe.
Also, no more likely to survive on surfaces (same lipids and RNA) - so still low risk. (Since more known about airborne infection, infection from surfaces considered much less of a risk than previously thought; very few documented cases of infection through surfaces)
Note: previous "COVID-safe" precautions in restaurants (sanitiser, distance, visors, perspex screens) were never safe for airborne viruses, without good enough ventilation; they were based on what was known at the time, but guidance and messaging needs to change.
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