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Title: The Effect of An Emergency Evacuation on the Spread of COVID19
In an emergency evacuation, people almost always come in close proximity as they quickly leave a built environment under a potential threat. With COVID19, this situation presents yet another challenge: that of getting unintentionally exposed to an infected individual. To assess the epidemiological consequences of an emergency evacuation, we expanded a popular pedestrian dynamic model to enable social distancing during a normal exit and analyze the effect of possible transmission through respiratory droplets and aerosol. Computer simulations point to a troubling outcome, whereby the benefits of a quick exit could be outweighed by the risk of infection.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
2027990 2027988
PAR ID:
10217834
Author(s) / Creator(s):
;
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Frontiers in Physics
Volume:
8
ISSN:
2296-424X
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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