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Monday, July 20, 2020

Shouldn’t Airborne Transmission of COVID-19 Be Considered News?



                                        WHO revised its guidelines after the open letter 
               


I find it odd that it took me more than 10 days before I heard about the open letter from 239 scientists published in Clinical Infectious Diseases titled It is Time to Address Airborne Transmission of COVID-19 .  Should not this be given more importance in the papers and on TV?

Main points:

Studies by the signatories and other scientists have demonstrated beyond any reasonable doubt that viruses are released during exhalation, talking, and coughing in microdroplets small enough to remain aloft in air and pose a risk of exposure at distances beyond 1 to 2 m from an infected individual


Most public health organizations, including the World Health Organization (WHO) do not recognize airborne transmission except for aerosol-generating procedures performed in healthcare settings. Hand washing and social distancing are appropriate, but in our view, insufficient to provide protection from virus-carrying respiratory microdroplets released into the air by infected people