New guidance from the CDC updates our understanding of the transmission of SARS-Cov-2, the virus that causes Covid-19 and recognizes the ease with which this virus can spread. It suggests that there is more of a dose-response relationship between viral exposure and risk of disease. Which is to say, the more virus you are exposed to, the higher your risk, even if the exposure doesn’t happen all at once.
. . . those spending a total of 15 minutes of contact with an infectious person over the course of a 24-hour period should be considered in close contact.”
Source: The Conversation, October 23, 2020. Link. Now, brief interactions that add up over time will be considered close contact.
INSIGHTS: The article does not address multiple sources of exposure over time. However, the new guidance is about exposure to the virus not to a specific individual fomite. So, in an environment where the public is moving in and out, staff members could potentially be cumulatively exposed from several infected people over time.
Sales representatives need to consider their role as a potential fomite and how making calls across a territory puts them at added risk for cumulative exposure.