As established by experts, COVID-2019 can be very dangerous and contagious in aerosol form.
The biggest question that has worried virologists and microbiologists since the new coronavirus first spread from animal to human is how exactly the infection spreads between humans. There was never any doubt that the virus can live on hard surfaces. It can also remain on the hands of people who are sick after coughing or sneezing, and then spread to others after shaking hands. The virus can live on doorknobs and then enter the body of a healthy person through the eyes, nose or mouth.
Less clear is the question of whether the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus can remain in the air for quite a long time, remaining viable and infectious. If so, then it may explain why COVID-2019 is spreading so actively. But whether this increases the incidence of coronavirus or not, the scientific portal Elemental sorted out.
THREE HOURS, THREE O'CLOCK
Research on this topic appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine in mid-March. The scientific work said that the coronavirus can remain viable, being contained not only in the droplets excreted from the nasopharynx as a result of coughing or sneezing - such droplets are quite heavy and quickly settle. But even in much smaller particles that can stay in the air from several minutes to three hours.
“This time is enough for a healthy person to be attacked by the infection, being in the air and being far from the source of its spread,” said Lisa Brosso, an expert on respiratory protection and infectious diseases, professor at the University of Illinois. - It works like this. If you have ever used hairspray or aerosolized vegetable oil, you have seen that quite a few particles remain in the air. And they can hang in the air for several minutes. The same thing happens when someone coughs or sneezes. When talking, breathing, coughing or sneezing, aerosol particles of various sizes are released into the air. Moreover, both small and large can be viable.
This position is shared by other scientists.
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“The specialists who are researching SARS-CoV-2 have no doubts that the virus can spread in the air,” says Lydia Moravska, a scientist at Cleveland University of Technology in Australia.
True, at the same time, no one has ever established how far the coronavirus spreads and how long it can remain viable and infectious, especially if it is released when talking or breathing. The only thing clear is that the most dangerous way of infection is contact with a person while sneezing or coughing. For example, particles of the flu virus can cross an entire room after an infected person sneezes. This is the conclusion reached by scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Experts who are researching SARS-CoV-2 have no doubt that the virus can spread in the air.
SAVING 6 METERS
However, scientists and epidemiologists still have not agreed among themselves: should everyone wear protective masks and carry out sanitary and preventive measures in hospitals and at home.
The World Health Organization emphasized that the study, which was published in mid-March, was conducted using laboratory equipment, and not with the participation of ordinary infected people. WHO claims that there is no evidence that the coronavirus can spread without direct contact with an infected person.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States recognizes that COVID-2019 spreads through droplets that are released when an infected person speaks, sneezes, coughs and breathes, so people should stay at least 2 meters apart from each other. But this advice does not save a person from aerosol particles that remain in the air longer than droplets.
MARIA BURK