When it comes to getting sick with COVID-19, you might be thinking about this, and we have too. Mickey Williamson asked, "What's the risk of using an e-scooter bike-share?"
We asked the experts: Katie Cary, vice president of infection prevention for HCA Continental Division, Dr. Nipunie Rajapakse, a pediatric infectious diseases physician at the Mayo Clinic; and Dr. Irfan N. Hafiz, infectious disease physician and Northwest Region chief medical officer at Northwestern Medicine.
Their take: Contracting COVID-19 from a shared bike or e-scooter is low-risk.
"I would say that the bikes or scooters are probably, are likely low-risk," Hafiz said.
"The risk with scooters or bikes comes from many people kind of touching the same surface primarily. And so, yes, it is possible it is lower risk than coming face-to-face with someone that's infected. But we would encourage people to reduce that risk. You can wipe down the handlebars or any surfaces that you're touching and make sure to wash your hands well before and after you use those as well," Rajapakse said.
"So the risk there with anything shared would probably be more getting it on your hands. And as we learn more about this virus, that's thought to be less transmissible by contact. So I would just really focusing on if you're using a shared piece of equipment, washing your hands after you use it. And then, you know, as far as if you're riding down the street, I would say it's much lower risk just because of the distances that you're able to achieve," Cary said.
If you have a question about your risk, send us a video to whatstherisk@newsy.com. You can see answers to other questions here.
