Coronavirus Update: WHO Says Covid-19 Is Spread By Respiratory Droplets, Not Through Air

The respiratory infections can be transmitted through droplets of different sizes. The transmission of the droplets happens when someone comes in the proximity of the person who has respiratory symptoms such as coughing or sneezing.

Virus is transported only through droplets that are coughed or sneezed out either directly. (Representative Image/ Getty)

Beijing: In the wake of significantly surging cases of Coronavirus across the globe and the fear surrounding the spread of the deadly virus, the World Health Organisation has recently made it clear that Covid-19 is transmitted through respiratory droplets and not through air. "The virus that causes the Covid-19 disease is primarily transmitted through "respiratory droplets and close contacts", and does not seem to stay long in the air," a recent publication by the WHO said. The earlier reports revealed the same thing that the new Coronavirus was spreading rapidly between people and researchers have been trying to pin down whether it can travel through the air. The health officials say the virus is transported only through droplets that are coughed or sneezed out either directly, or on objects. The respiratory infections can be transmitted through droplets of different sizes. The transmission of the droplets happens when someone comes in the proximity of the person who has respiratory symptoms such as coughing or sneezing. This results in the spread of the potentially infectious droplets which are typically 5-10 microns in size, to your body Droplet transmission occurs when you have close contact (within one meter) with a person who has respiratory symptoms such as coughing or sneezing, which may spread these potentially infectious droplets, typically 5-10 microns in size, to your body. The transmission of the infection may also occur by touching surfaces or objects in the immediate environment around the infected person, state-run China Daily quoted the WHO publication as saying. The publication furthers says that airborne transmission is different from droplet transmission, as it refers to the presence of microbes within droplet nuclei, which are generally considered to be the smaller particles of less than 5 microns in diameter, and which can remain in the air for long periods of time and be transmitted to others over distances greater than one meter. In the context of COVID-19, the airborne transmission may be possible in specific circumstances in which procedures or support treatments that generate aerosols are performed, such as intubation within a patient's windpipe, disconnecting a patient from a ventilator, and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). In an analysis of 75,465 patients with the Coronavirus in China, no cases of transmission by air were reported the publications said. Inciting on the current evidence, the WHO advances to recommend droplet and contact precautions for those people who are taking care of the COVID-19 patients. The publication also recommends that people should take measures to prevent possible transmission by air when performing medical operations that produce aerosols. (With inputs from PTI)