CDC: COVID-19 could spread by airborne transmission

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) now says that COVID-19 could spread through airborne particles that can linger in the air for minutes or even hours.

In its latest guidance, CDC acknowledged that under certain circumstances, people have become infected by smaller particles that can linger in the air in enclosed spaces that are poorly ventilated.

“Sometimes the infected person was breathing heavily, for example while singing or exercising, can spread the virus” the CDC said.

The organisation also noted that there is evidence that the amount of smaller infectious droplets and particles that a contagious person produces “becomes concentrated enough to spread the virus to other people” – even if they were more than 6 feet away.

Likewise, transmission can also occur even shortly after the person with COVID-19 had left the room.

CDC stresses close-contact transmission is more common than through air, however, a group of US scientists warned in an unrelated open letter published in the medical journal Science on Monday that aerosols lingering in the air could be a major source of COVID-19 transmission. 

CDC urges the public to continue to protect themselves from COVID-19 by staying at least 6 feet away from others, wearing a mask that covers their nose and mouth, washing their hands frequently, cleaning touched surfaces often and staying home when sick.

The update now aligns with research from the World Health Organization, which has said since July that research showed the virus was spread, in certain cases, by airborne transmission in some places especially indoors.

To date there are more than 35 million COVID-19 cases around the world – wherein 10 countries account for 70 per cent of all reported cases and deaths, and three countries account for half said WHO