NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 09: A man wearing a protective mask is seen on a subway platform on March 9, 2020 in New York City. There are now 20 confirmed coronavirus cases in the city including a 7-year-old girl in the Bronx. (Photo by Jeenah Moon/Getty Im WASHINGTON - An MIT researcher has warned that coronavirus droplets could travel up to 27 feet, which could have major implications for social distancing. Download the FOX 5 DC News App for Local Breaking News and Weather Lydia Bourouiba, Ph.D., an associate professor at MIT and expert in fluid dynamics, explained that a sneeze, for example, results in a turbulent gas cloud that could contain coronavirus droplets.