Published 12:12 IST, October 6th 2020
Coronavirus transmission through air possible, 6 feet distance not enough: US CDC
Amidst the Coronavirus pandemic, the US CDC has updated its website and states that airborne transmission of the virus can occur at more than six feet.
An update to the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention website has now acknowledged that airborne transmission of the coronavirus is possible and also that the previously believed safe distance of six feet is not enough to prevent its spread. As per their website, while COVID-19 mainly spreads through close contact, it can sometimes spread through airborne transmission of small droplets and particles that can linger in the air for minutes and even hours.
US CDC acknowledges COVID-19 airborne transmission
The new update reveals that the distance that was previously considered the limit of airborne transmission and therefore safe is not accurate. The CDC reports have stated that there have been several uncommon cases where persons infected with COVID-19 have infected people that were further than six feet away. This update could prove to be a hindrance to the plans for the safe reopening of businesses and schools.
The new information by the CDC comes at a time when the intensity of the COVID-19 pandemic in the US seems to be increasing, and the virus outbreak in the White House that infected US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump also seems to be expanding. States like Florida have in recent weeks started reopening schools as well as lifting restrictions on restaurants and other businesses. Experts have also stated that the approach of colder weather and ad a number of holidays in the US will push more people to socialize indoors where the virus spreads more easily.
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. The virus, named COVID-19 by the World Health Organisation, has infected over 35 million people worldwide with the global death toll crossing 1,000,000. The US has reported more than 7.5 million positive COVID-19 cases and a death toll of over 210,000.
(Image: AP)
Updated 12:11 IST, October 6th 2020