COVID-19 Alpha variant getting better at transmitting through air, new study claims

The COVID-19 pandemic has been going on for more than one and a half year and several types of research about the efficacy and transmission of the virus have been conducted. According to research led by the University of Maryland in the United States, the COVID-19 virus is getting better at staying airborne and travelling through air. The study has been published in Clinical Infectious Diseases.

According to the findings of the research, people infected with SARS-CoV-2 exhale the virus while breathing into the air around them. Additionally, patients infected with the Alpha variant breathe out 40 to 100 times more virus into the air around them than people infected with the original variant of the virus. Furthermore, wearing loose-fitting clothes and face masks does not stop the virus from getting into the air around an infected person. 

Coronavirus getting better at transmitting through air

"We know that the Delta variant circulating now is even more contagious than the Alpha variant. Our research indicates that the variants just keep getting better at travelling through the air, so we must provide better ventilation and wear tight-fitting masks, in addition to vaccination, to help stop the spread of the virus," as said by Don Milton, professor at University of Maryland School of Public Health. 

According to a lead author of the study, the mutated variant of SARS-CoV-2 might be transmitted from the nose and mouth by sprays of large droplets coming in the proximity of an infected person, and that the study shows that the amount of virus in exhaled air droplets is increasing. The research also says that a major increase in the number of airborne viruses from the Alpha variant occurred before the new Delta variant arrived. It indicates that the virus is getting better at travelling through the air.

"Layered approach to control measures" required to safeguard against Coronavirus

Concluding from the research, vaccination and wearing masks is not enough to save one from COVID-19. According to Jennifer German, a co-author, "a layered approach to control measures including improved ventilation, increased filtration, UV air sanitation, and tight-fitting masks, in addition to vaccination - is critical to protect people in public-facing jobs and indoor spaces." Stay tuned for more updates on the Coronavirus. 

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