This is what happens when people panic and don’t think. Clear plastic barriers that have been erected everywhere to keep people from spreading their infested spittle may actually make things worse. Much like wearing masks that can cause viruses to accumulate on the mask viruses can accumulate in areas with lack of airflow. With a mask you end up touching the mask and then your face thereby infecting yourself. With these barriers virus can get blown into an area and get stuck because there is no other air to push it out. Great job experts and scientists!
British researchers have conducted modeling studies simulating what happens when a person on one side of a barrier — like a customer in a store — exhales particles while speaking or coughing under various ventilation conditions. The screen is more effective when the person coughs, because the larger particles have greater momentum and hit the barrier. But when a person speaks, the screen doesn’t trap the exhaled particles — which just float around it. While the store clerk may avoid an immediate and direct hit, the particles are still in the room, posing a risk to the clerk and others who may inhale the contaminated air.
“We have shown this effect of blocking larger particles, but also that the smaller aerosols travel over the screen and become mixed in the room air within about five minutes,” said Catherine Noakes, professor of environmental engineering for buildings at the University of Leeds in England. “This means if people are interacting for more than a few minutes, they would likely be exposed to the virus regardless of the screen.”
New York Times