I wrote about a key ally of COVID-19 in this pandemic: Your voice.

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/08/wear-your-mask-and-stop-talking/615796/

The virus spreads thru large and small droplets that we produce when we speak and shout. We must design public spaces, not only for ventilation and space, but also for QUIET.

Compared with shouting, quiet talking reduces the production of virus-soaked aerosols by 80%; silence reduces them by 98%.

One scientist told me talking quietly, rather than yelling, reduces the risk of viral transmission by a degree comparable to properly wearing a mask.

One estimate of viral density in our daily exhalations finds:

a) shouting produces far more particles than talking, which produces far more particles than silence

b) exercise dramatically increases the *exertion* of your exhaling, which emits more virus

The lack of outbreaks on Tokyo's famously crowded trains offers a useful, real-world proof of the value of silence.

While NYC spends $15 million a month blasting its subways with soap, the Japanese keep their trains safe with a cheaper tactic: masking up and shutting up.

My proposal: Library rules for America.

Every time you walked into a school, clinic, drug store, barbershop, office, or airport, there's a big fat sign at the door:

MASK UP AND SHUT UP
KEEP QUIET AND CARRY ON
MAKE GOOD CHOICES; LOWER YOUR VOICES

Understanding the power of our voice in this pandemic will also improve what Americans do best: Shame each other.

People sitting quietly on a beach isn't a big deal. People shouting on their phones in CVS is.

Big picture: It's time for public health officials—and politicians, schools, companies, and all public spaces—to talk, in this pandemic, about the importance of not talking in this pandemic. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/08/wear-your-mask-and-stop-talking/615796/