Close to a month following the Lancet’s report mentioning air as the mode of transmission for coronavirus, the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention said on Friday in a new set of guidelines that people are majorly infected through very fine aerosolized particles released in the air during respiration.
It stated that within 3 to 6 feet of distance from an infection source or an infected individual, the risk of transmission is the greatest. This is due to the concentration of the very fine droplets and particles being high in these areas.
There are now categories of SARS-CoV-2 transmission- inhalation of virus, touching mucous membranes with soiled hands contaminated or acting as a source for the virus, and deposition of virus on exposed mucous membranes.
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The top medical body of the US in its report said, “People release respiratory fluids during exhalation (quiet breathing, speaking, singing, exercise, coughing, sneezing) in the form of droplets across a spectrum of sizes.1-9 These droplets carry the virus and transmit infection.”
It added that the smallest of these very fine droplets and aerosol particles, which are formed when these dry rapidly, are small enough to remain floating in air from several minutes to hours.
“The risk for infection decreases with increasing distance from the source and increasing time after exhalation,” it said.
This being said, there is lesser chance of getting infected through inhalations when a person is more than 6 feet away from an infectious or contaminated source, it added.
“These transmission events have involved the presence of an infectious person exhaling virus indoors for an extended time (more than 15 minutes and in some cases hours) leading to virus concentrations in the air space sufficient to transmit infections to people more than 6 feet away, and in some cases to people who have passed through that space soon after the infectious person left,” the US’s DCP said.
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The body reiterated the importance of the existing guidelines for staying protected from the virus as they remain effective against the virus including social distancing, wearing well-fitting masks, avoiding crowded indoor areas, and adequate ventilation.
The body cautioned,”These methods will reduce transmission both from inhalation of virus and deposition of virus on exposed mucous membranes. Transmission through soiled hands and surfaces can be prevented by practicing good hand hygiene and by environmental cleaning.”
