Published 19:29 IST, September 2nd 2020
COVID-19: Researchers discover possibility of airborne transmission up to 2 metres
Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, a new study has shown that the virus can infect people even without direct contact and can travel up to 2 meters.
Amidst the coronavirus pandemic, a recent study has once again raised questions about how much is actually known about COVID-19. As per a new study published on August 1 in JAMA Internal Medicine, it was revealed that it is possible for someone with coronavirus to infect a healthy individual without a direct point of contact and that the coronavirus can extend up to 2 metres and even beyond.
Crucial new information
According to reports, the study and its findings are based on a Chinese bus journey, wherein an infected passenger was able to infect as many as two dozen fellow passengers. The bus journey in question was a 50-minute trip to a Buddhist event in the Chinese city go Ningbo. The journey being studied took place in January before masks in public became a necessity.
The study states that the deadly coronavirus was able to infect healthy individuals who were as far as 1-2 metres (3-6 feet) from the infected individual. It has also been stated that the infected individual was asymptomatic or had not begun to show symptoms of the virus during the bus journey. The COVID-19 virus is still relatively new and new information is always being uncovered by researchers as a more in-depth study into the nature of the virus and how it spreads is conducted. During the initial stages of the pandemic, it was believed that the virus was not airborne, but subsequent research caused researchers to re-evaluate their previous knowledge.
The COVID-19 pandemic which saw its first outbreak in a wet market in Wuhan, China last year has now spread all across the world and continues to negatively impact the global economy. The virus, named COVID-19 by the World Health Organisation, has infected over 25 million people worldwide with the global death toll reaching over 800,000.
As per the John Hopkins coronavirus resource centre, the United States has reported a total of at least 6 million positive virus cases and has a death toll of 184,697. The US currently has the highest number of reported cases in the world, making it the epicentre of the deadly virus.
(Image credits: PTI)
Updated 19:29 IST, September 2nd 2020