The logic behind the stay-at-home orders in effect in most parts of the United States is that if people stay home and maintain social distancing, the spread of coronavirus will slow.

But what about those who live in apartments, often sharing air and touching the same doorknobs, mailboxes, and other shared surfaces as their neighbors? Several newspaper articles in recent days have examined that question.

The New York Daily News talked to a family in Washington Heights, in Manhattan, in which 11 relatives live together in a two-bedroom apartment, and one man living there has tested positive for coronavirus and has been hospitalized. This is such a common problem in New York that the mayor has announced plans to make available 11,000 hotel rooms for city residents living in packed apartments.

The Boston Globe reported that apartments and condo buildings have become "towers of fear" in the coronavirus era. The newspaper told the story of the management of one fancy rental building sending a letter to residents informing them that someone in the building had tested positive for coronavirus. This has happened nationwide, with residents often told that a neighbor has tested positive but not, for privacy reasons, being told who it was.

The Globe piece tells story of Bostonians who moved into luxury condo buildings but are now avoiding the gym, laundry rooms and other amenities that had attracted them in the first place. It also said that managers of buildings have developed a "wartime footing," even "training authorized volunteer residents as back-ups in case the staff goes down with COVID-19."

The Washington Post also wrote this week that tensions are mounting at condos and apartments in the nation's capital, even at the famous- and huge-Watergate complex. One building even got into a massive email battle over whether or not it was fair to "out" someone as having tested positive for the virus.

According to a Business Insider story this week, infectious disease specialists say the risk of neighbors in an apartment or condo building being infected are low, provided that recommended self-quarantine and social distancing practices are followed. Most neighbors of an infected individual will likely be safe if they avoid respiratory contact.

One public health professor suggested avoiding sharing elevators with others. A woman quoted in the Globe article said she has told neighbors not to get in the elevator with her.

Stephen Silver, a technology writer for The National Interest, is a journalist, essayist and film critic, who is also a contributor to Philly Voice, Philadelphia Weekly, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Living Life Fearless, Backstage magazine, Broad Street Review and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. 

Image: Reuters.