Is it okay to go outside for a walk, run or bike ride?

Albert Ko at the Yale School of Public Health and others offer guidance.

The White House coronavirus guidelines for the 15-day period that started Monday, 16 March advise avoiding “discretionary travel, shopping trips and social visits,” as well as “social gatherings in groups of more than 10 people.” But outdoor exercise is not on the list.

So unless local guidelines instruct otherwise, fresh air and outdoor exercise are allowed – though it’s important to keep some distance between yourself and others. The coronavirus is thought to spread primarily through close contact between people – within about six feet.

The primary mode of transmission is through respiratory droplets.

There is better airflow outside than in confined spaces. That air flow outside reduces the risk of one person transmitting the virus to another through droplets in the air, says Albert Ko, the Yale epidemiologist. “So if you’re going out and you’re hiking or biking or running and you’re not within, say, six feet or 10 feet of another person, I would consider that a healthy, safe practice.”

Ko also points to the significant mental health issues that can be caused or exacerbated when people are cooped up.

“My personal feeling is that if people are practicing sound respiratory hygiene, sound hand hygiene, they’re distancing themselves physically from others outside, and you’re exercising and walking in the park — I think that’s actually a good public health practice.”

Source: https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/03/20/819031274/coronavirus-faqs-can-i-go-running-is-food-shopping-too-risky-whats-herd-immunity