Researchers counter WHO's claim, reveal 'coronavirus is airborne'

A group of scientists will publish an open letter to the World Health Organization (WHO) claiming that coronavirus is airborne. An airborne disease is any disease that is caused by pathogens that can be transmitted through the air over time and distance by small particles. Such diseases include many of considerable importance both in human and veterinary medicine.

The letter, which was reported by the Los Angeles Times and the New York Times, will also allegedly accuse the WHO of failing to issue appropriate warnings about the risk of contracting coronavirus via airborne transmission. The scientists are calling on the United Nations health agency to revise its recommendations on coronavirus and plan to publish their letter in Clinical Infectious Diseases, published on gizmodo.

The letter has been signed by 239 researchers from 32 countries and includes experts in virology, aerosol physics, flow dynamics, exposure and epidemiology, medicine, and building engineering, according to a press release from the Queensland University of Technology.

Also read: WHO team to visit China next week to investigate origin of COVID-19

Currently, the WHO and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) only warn about transmission from inhaling small droplets produced when infected people cough, sneeze or speak, or from touching a contaminated surface and then touching your eyes, nose or mouth. In interim guidance on infection prevention and control published on June 29, the WHO contends that airborne transmission can occur when health care workers perform medical procedures that produce aerosols, which are extremely small respiratory droplets.

The CDC, meanwhile, has stated that the coronavirus touching infected surfaces is not the primary way the virus spreads.

Nonetheless, per the Los Angles Times, the experts argue that this guidance that warns about the two types of transmission ignores the evidence that airborne transmission also plays a significant role in the coronavirus spread.

In the letter, the scientists purportedly highlight multiple studies that they say demonstrate that aerosols can hang in the air for long periods of time and float dozens of feet. This makes poorly ventilated rooms, buses, and other confined spaces dangerous, even if people keep the recommended six feet of distance from one another.

More details on Gizmodo

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