Coronavirus may not spread through tears, but can enter through eyes: Study

A new study on coronavirus claims that the disease may not be spread through tears, contrary to what some reports had claimed earlier. According to the study, the virus can enter a non-infected person's body via eyes, but it may not spread through tears of an infected patient. The study was published in the journal Ophthalmology, where researchers have said that it is absolutely clear that the virus spread through mucus and droplets expelled by coughing or sneezing, but if it spreads through other bodily fluids like tears, etc is still unclear. 

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As per reports, researchers at the National University Hospital in Singapore collected tear samples from 17 COVID-19 positive patients. After studying the samples, the researchers said that no virus was detected in infected patients' tears, not even through Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR). As per the study, the infection is transmitted if someone inhales droplets through mouth or nose, or it enters via eyes. The infection can also spread if someone touches their eyes after touching a doorknob or table that has previously come into the contact of a COVID-19 positive person. 

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Coronavirus outbreak

COVID-19 has claimed more than 21,200 lives across the world and has infected nearly 4,71,000 people globally since it first broke out in December 2019. China was the most affected country until last week, however, Italy and Spain have surpassed it to record the most number of deaths anywhere in the world due to COVID-19. The virus is believed to have originated from a seafood market in China's Wuhan city, the epicentre of the disease, where animals were reportedly being traded illegally. 

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France and the United States have also joined the list of countries that have recorded more than 1,000 deaths due to Coronavirus. Health experts believe that the hotspot could soon shift to the United States, where 1,032 people have died so far, out of the 68,489 confirmed cases that the country has recorded since January 2020.

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(Image Credit: AP)