NHK correspondents, together with specialists, conducted an experiment that showed how quickly the coronavirus spreads in public places. A special dye was applied to the "infected" participant and asked to visit the restaurant. After half an hour, particles of the substance scattered throughout the room.
How does contact infection occur on cruise ships, leading to the spread of coronavirus on them?
NHK correspondents conducted an experiment in conjunction with experts. During the experiment, it was demonstrated how a special dye, which acted as a virus, quickly spreads between people through various objects that they touch. This suggests that on cruise ships such "hotbeds" are places of mass gathering of people, for example, the premises of restaurants, cafes, etc.
Employees of the NHK television and radio corporation, together with specialists, conducted an experiment with the participation of 10 people. In the course of the experiment, one of its participants, who played the role of an "infected", was applied to the palms of a special fluorescent dye and asked to stay in the restaurant for 30 minutes, from time to time putting his hand to his mouth, as if holding back a cough.
Then, in a special light, the experimenters checked the spread of bluish-white dots of the dye around the "carrier of the infection", paying special attention to the dishes, the hands of people nearby, etc. It turned out that the particles of the substance were widely scattered throughout the room.
The dye was found on the hands of all the participants in the experiment, without exception, in three of them it was found on their faces.
Especially many luminous traces of the dye were found on the lids that covered trays of food, on the handles of special tongs with which the participants filled their plates, as well as on the handles of jugs and other containers with drinks.
When the organizers of the experiment suggested that the restaurant staff change the devices with which the participants applied food to themselves as often as possible, and also asked the participants to regularly disinfect their hands, the area of coverage of the palms with dye particles decreased 30 times, and they were not found at all on people's faces.
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Professor of St. Marianne Medical University (Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture) Hiroyuki Kunijima commented on the results of the experiment: “Many places that are not marked in a special way and that are in those rooms where a lot of people accumulate are called 'high-risk surfaces' and are dangerous for humans. We need to be aware of these risks and take the necessary measures to protect against them."