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Coronavirus airborne transmission: What you need to know - CNET

Coronavirus airborne transmission: What you need to know - CNET

Coronavirus airborne transmission: What you need to know - CNET
Jul 07, 2020 1 min, 33 secs

More than 200 scientists and experts across the globe penned an open letter on Monday to public health bodies, including the World Health Organization, arguing there's significant evidence the coronavirus can persist in the air and spread in airborne particles from person to person.

The letter, published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases on Monday, advocates for "the use of preventative measures to mitigate this route of airborne transmission" and was signed by 239 researchers from 32 countries.

"It's possible and even likely that airborne transmission occurs for SARS-CoV-2 sometimes," Babak Javid, an infectious diseases physician at the Tsinghua University School of Medicine, said in a statement.

The WHO's official guidance on the matter is the virus moves from person to person via "small droplets" that are expelled when a person with COVID-19 coughs, sneezes or speaks.

They believe when a person with COVID-19 expels virus, the particles remain aloft and can travel great distances on air currents, particularly where ventilation is poor.

To mitigate the risk of airborne transmission, they propose two major measures should be implemented: Better ventilation in public buildings and reducing overcrowding.

"We are concerned that the lack of recognition of the risk of airborne transmission of COVID-19 and the lack of clear recommendations on the control measures against the airborne virus will have significant consequences," the researchers write.

"A problem here is the potential conflict between the technical notion of airborne transmission and the perception of the general public about this term," said Jose Vazquez-Boland, chair of infectious diseases at the University of Edinburgh.

You might immediately think just going for a jog or spending time outside could result in infection as COVID-19 particles make their way into your lungs, but it's more likely the "airborne" route occurs in densely packed, indoors settings with poor ventilation.

"There is a bit of a false dichotomy between droplet and airborne transmission," Bogoch said.

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