Coronavirus Aerosol Transmission Can Exceed 6 Feet

The new coronavirus that causes COVID-19 is thought to spread mainly through close contact from person to person who is physically near each other, stated the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

And, the CDC’s website update on October 5, 2020, says ‘People who are infected but do not show symptoms can also spread the virus to others. Some infections can be spread by exposure to coronavirus in small droplets and particles that can linger in the air for minutes to hours.’

‘These viruses may be able to infect people who are further than 6 feet away from the person who is infected or after that person has left the space.’

As the infected respiratory droplets travel further from the person with COVID-19, the concentration of these droplets decreases.’

This means larger droplets fall out of the air due to gravity. And smaller droplets and particles spread apart in the air.

The CDC’s new statement continued clarifying SARS-CoV-2 virus transmission risks, such as the following:

• When people with COVID-19 cough, sneeze, sing, talk, or breathe they produce respiratory droplets. These droplets can range in size from larger droplets to smaller droplets. Small droplets can also form particles when they dry very quickly in the airstream.
• There is evidence that under certain conditions, people with COVID-19 seem to have infected others who were more than 6 feet away. These transmissions occurred within enclosed spaces that had inadequate ventilation.
• Under these circumstances, scientists believe that the amount of infectious smaller droplets and particles produced by the people with COVID-19 became concentrated enough to spread the coronavirus to other people.
• Respiratory droplets can also land on surfaces and it is possible that a person could get COVID-19 by touching a surface or object that has the coronavirus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose, or eyes. This transmission method is not thought to be a common way that COVID-19 spreads.
• It appears that the SARS-CoV-2 virus can spread from people to animals in some situations. The CDC is aware of a small number of pets worldwide, including cats and dogs, reported being infected with the virus that causes COVID-19, mostly after close contact with people with COVID-19. At this time, the CDC says the risk of COVID-19 spreading from animals to people is considered to be minimal.

CoronavirusToday publishes release based COVID-19 pandemic news.