WHO issues new guidelines for airborne COVID-19 virus: Avoid restaurants, gyms to stay safe

The WHO says that specific indoor locations, such as crowded and inadequately ventilated spaces, can facilitate faster transmission of the COVID-19 virus.

By: Jahnavi Sarma | | Published: July 10, 2020 11:01 am

The new guidelines ask people to avoid crowded places, close-contact settings and confined and enclosed spaces with poor ventilation.

The World Health Organisation, after previously dismissing this risk, is now acknowledging the possibility that COVID-19 may be spread in the air under certain conditions. This comes after more than 200 scientists urged the agency to do so. In an open letter published this week in a journal, two scientists from Australia and the US wrote that studies have shown “beyond any reasonable doubt that viruses are released during exhalation, talking and coughing in microdroplets small enough to remain aloft in the air.” The said researchers, along with more than 200 others, appealed for national and international authorities, including the WHO, to adopt more stringent protective measures. Following this, WHO has released an updated guidance on the role of airborne droplets in transmission of COVID-19. Also Read - New COVID-19 strain is here, protect yourself with three layered surgical masks: Experts

WHO’s new guidelines

However, WHO still maintains that the COVID-19 virus is mainly spread via respiratory droplets. This happens when larger droplets from coughs and sneezes fall quickly to the floor or onto another person. But in view of the growing demand among scientists for WHO to acknowledge airborne transmission, the organization has come out with a few recommendations. The new guidelines ask people to avoid crowded places, close-contact settings and confined and enclosed spaces with poor ventilation. This is in addition to other safety practices like wearing of fabric masks or covering your face in public places. Also Read - COVID-19 surge continues in Maharashtra: Night curfew, full lockdown on weekends in Aurangabad

Indoor spaces are high-risk zones

WHO has long dismissed the possibility that the coronavirus is spread in the air except for certain risky medical procedures, such as when patients are first put on breathing machines. In a change to its previous thinking, WHO noted on Thursday that studies evaluating COVID-19 outbreaks in restaurants, choir practices and fitness classes suggested the virus might have been spread in the air. Airborne spread “particularly in specific indoor locations, such as crowded and inadequately ventilated spaces over a prolonged period of time with infected persons cannot be ruled out,” said the premier organization. Also Read - CoWIN registration not a must for healthcare workers, front line warriors to get the COVID-19 vaccine

Surfaces, contact with infected person comes a close second

Still, officials also pointed out that other modes of transmission — like contaminated surfaces or close contacts between people in such indoor environments — might also have explained the disease’s spread. Earlier studies have shown that the virus can survive on surfaces for a long period of time.

Asymptomatic people pose a danger too

WHO also maintains that asymptomatic people contribute significantly to the spread of the COVID-19 virus. But for a long time earlier, the organization had downplayed this risk. Earlier, WHO repeatedly said such transmission is “rare” despite a growing consensus among scientists globally that asymptomatic spread likely accounts for a significant amount of transmission. The agency said that most spread is via droplets from infected people who cough or sneeze. But the organization has now added that people without symptoms are also capable of transmitting the disease. The extent of truly asymptomatic infection in the community remains unknown as of now, say experts.

(With inputs from Agencies)

Published : July 10, 2020 11:01 am

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