Even With the COVID-19 Pandemic, What is Wrong With Going Outside If You Don't Get Near Anyone?

This question was originally posted on Quora.com and was answered by Dieter Neth, Have lived in Mexico and Switzerland for many years



Going outside on a bright sunny day by yourself or with the folks you are living together anyways is actually good for you.

It will boost your immune system, as this is positively affected by sunlight. Strong UV radiation will NOT be good for the virus - any virus. Too much of it can even kill YOU, as it mutates your skin cells to become cancerous.

“Going outside” ist not synonimous with gathering in groups and have a picknick or to stand at close quarters to have a chat however. That is what people get wrong. Keep moving - or go to a lonely spot. Passing a few folks - infected or not - most likely won’t get you infected, it takes more than that. Sure, if the fellow sneezes you into the face - not good. But that has never happened to me in all my life, why should it now?

Sure, there is the odd case of someone picking it up from inhaling someone’s breath and the internet babblers go ape over it - but that is not the way this pandemic has gone the way it did. Actually, a few infections now and then are actually desireable. If no one gets infected and we all get turned loose - you can bet that whithin a month we do the whole exercise all over again.

What we need is a slow, but steady infection of a large part of the non-vulnerable population. Almost like a prescribed burn. Once that has happened, you won’t get a second spike when lifting the lockdown but a lengthy, albeit slow contagion of many people that won’t overwhelm the health care system. That seems what everybody in Governments the world over is having on their minds.

It does not matter “how many” people get infected, but “Who” these folks are, and how many people get infected at the same time. So let’s protect the vulnerable section of the population who is more likely to need hospital care for Covid-19. That section is larger than many may think, specially in Europe and other western countries - and not all of them are old.

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