Scientists studying COVID-19 raise concerns over airborne transmission

This translation has been automatically generated and has not been verified for accuracy.Caroline Duchaine has spent months hunting for traces of microscopic COVID-19 particles in far-flung corners of infected patients’ rooms, hoping to answer critical questions about whether the coronavirus could pose an airborne transmission risk.

In response to the letter, the WHO said this week it may be possible for airborne transmission to occur under certain conditions and that it would be releasing a new briefing document on the subject. The Public Health Agency of Canada and provincial health authorities are focused on preventing the droplet-based spread of COVID-19. That’s why people are being urged to stay two metres apart and wear masks if they can’t.

David Miller, a professor and toxicologist at Carleton University in Ottawa, said the point of the letter isn’t to change the classification of COVID-19 to an airborne disease, which would require health care workers to use different personal protective equipment when caring for infected patients. It’s simply to highlight the importance of improving airflow in buildings and ensure other measures, such as masks, are used.

Isaac Bogoch, an infectious diseases physician at Toronto General Hospital, said with any virus there’s a spectrum of transmission risk. With COVID-19, most of the risk falls on the droplet end of the spectrum, but there is a chance airborne transmission may occur under certain circumstances. Dr. Evans said that after The New York Times article on the letter was published last weekend, he had to reassure nervous hospital employees that the current precautions in place are enough to protect them from COVID-19.

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