Do Not Forget To Wear Your Mask! Coronavirus Is Predominantly Spreading Via Air

Beware! novel coronavirus can spread via air and thus one thing that is important right now is to not let your guards down.

Coronavirus is spreading rapidly in India than anywhere else in the world and has currently surpassed the USA with its daily cases. While there is a sudden surge in the COVID-19 active numbers in the country, a study has shown that there is consistent, strong evidence that the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes Covid-19, is predominantly transmitted through the air. The study which was published in the medical journal The Lancet warned that public health measures that fail to treat the virus as predominantly airborne leave people unprotected and allow the virus to spread.

How Does It Spread Via Air?

• Silent (asymptomatic or presymptomatic) transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from people who are not coughing or sneezing accounts for at least 40 per cent of all transmission.
• This silent transmission is a key way Covid-19 has spread around the world, "supporting a predominantly airborne mode of transmission," as per the assessment.
• By contrast, the researchers found little to no evidence that the virus spreads easily via large droplets, which fall quickly through the air and contaminate surfaces.
• Further, the researchers emphasize that while it is necessary to wash hands and clean surfaces, they should be given less emphasis than airborne measures.
• If an infectious virus is primarily airborne, someone can potentially be infected when they inhale aerosols produced when an infected person exhales, speaks, shouts, sings, or sneezes.

Speaking to the media, Jose-Luis Jimenez, a chemist at the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) and University of Colorado Boulder said, "The evidence supporting airborne transmission is overwhelming, and evidence supporting large droplet transmission is almost non-existent." Jimenez further added, "It is urgent that the World Health Organisation and other public health agencies adapt their description of transmission to the scientific evidence so that the focus of mitigation is put on reducing airborne transmission."

How To Control The Coronavirus Spread?

It is very important to understand the ways in which one can stop the spread of novel coronavirus. Here are some effective ways:

• The airborne control measures include ventilation, air filtration, reducing crowding and the number of time people spends indoors.
• Wearing masks whenever indoors (even if not within 6 feet or 2 metres of others).
• Attention to mask quality and fit, and higher-grade PPE for healthcare and other staff when working in contact with potentially infectious people.
• Maintain the minimum social distancing when you are out.
• Stay away from all those who are sick and are showing the symptoms of coronavirus.

Also, Coronavirus Can Spread Much Higher

The team reviewed published research and identified 10 lines of evidence to support the predominance of the airborne route. At the top of their list: Super-spreader events such as the Skagit Choir outbreak, in which 53 people became infected from a single infected case. Studies have confirmed these events cannot be adequately explained by close contact or touching shared surfaces or objects.

Moreover, transmission rates of SARS-CoV-2 are much higher indoors than outdoors, and transmission is greatly reduced by indoor ventilation. The researchers also cited work demonstrating long-range transmission of the virus between people in adjacent rooms in hotels; people who were never in each other's presence.