[clairity]

you should never have stopped walking. the chances of covid infection outside on a walk are essentially zero.

this is one of the many little harms of blanket stay home orders rather than just distancing (with masks only when you can’t), where you get nearly all of the benefits with nearly none of the downsides.

[alwillis]

I live in New England; in addition to the stay at-home orders, it was also cold and rainy much of the spring, in addition to living in a state with the third most infections and deaths from COVID-19 in the country during March–May.

As of today, we’ve had 8,860 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in my county alone.

I have pre-existing conditions and live with a septuagenarian that clearly made it not worth the risk to be out and about.

[clairity]

i completely sympathize with the need to be cautious in the face of elevated risk, but taking a walk outside doesn't by itself present additional risk. the virus doesn't exist ambiently in the air. you need an infected person breathing into your face for some period of time for the risks to accumulate enough to successfully transmit the disease.