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Not really, not in a prison: Droplets exist in a continuum, and while most are large enough to drop out of the air, as they get smaller they stay in the air longer, and require less air current to stay aloft. [0]

As such, while the small particles may not exists in sufficient quantities when it is just one infected, or a few infected inmates, but with each infected inmate the concentrations of those small particles will increase. Let's say they're normally 0.5% of the total particle exhalations: 10 inmates get sick through direct contact, and their combined exhalations bring the quantity of smaller, longer lived particles up to an equivalent of 5%. More get sick through contact, bringing it to 20%. At some point, you hit a critical mass where there is a sufficient concentration to infect people, and creates a downward spiral from there.

[0] https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/14/health/coronavirus-six-fe...



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