๐๐ ๐ง๐๐๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ญ๐๐ฅ๐ค ๐๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ airborne transmission…๐๐ ๐๐ข๐ง. ๐๐ง๐, ๐ฐ๐ก๐ฒ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ฆ๐๐ญ๐ญ๐๐ซ๐ฌ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฎ๐ฌ ๐ข๐ง ๐๐ง๐๐ฅ๐จ๐ฌ๐๐ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ซ๐ค๐ฉ๐ฅ๐๐๐๐ฌ, ๐๐ข๐ซ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐๐ง๐๐ฌ, ๐๐ก๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐ก๐๐ฌ, ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ก๐จ๐จ๐ฅ๐ฌ.
For months now, I have felt like a broken record saying COVID-19 is airborne. Signing, shouting, and playing instruments can spread it farther and quicker. But, also breathing can too in enclosed spaces.
Studies continue to confirm those findings. Early on the in pandemic, the CDC used wording that said that COVID-19 was thought to spread mainly between people in close contact — about 6 feet — and “through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs, sneezes or talks.”
That was a problem – many people I talked with in workplaces, churches, and schools took that as evidence that being in an enclosed space with proper physical distancing was enough (and why many people did not and still do not believe in masking inside buildings). For example, the thought was that being in a sporting event with loud shouting or church with singing was safe as long as you were 6 feet apart – due mainly to the misconception that the larger particles (like a sneeze you can see) were the way COVID-19 was transmitted.
From the beginning, we have known differently though:
โ April – A prestigious scientific group of leaders in infectious diseases and public health wrote a letter to the White House stating: “Currently available research supports the possibility that [coronavirus] could be spread via bioaerosols generated directly by patients’ exhalation,” the letter said.
โ July – 239 scientists from around the world published a letter to the WHO advocating for them to recognize the importance of airborne transmission. They note the strong potential for COVID-19 to spread around a room through the air. (BTW, many of these 239 scientists are the top, top, top of the field for virology, infectious diseases, and air quality.)
โ August – Doctors found COVID-19 in the air of patient’s rooms.
โ In May, I did a webinar discussing how COVID-19 can travel through the air around a room (up to 27 feet) – far and fast. In the webinar, we look at the science of how far COVID-19 can travel through shouting/singing, how doctors have found the virus outside of patients rooms (even in negative pressure spaces – which is concerning for healthcare), and how aerosoled particles are different than the bigger, respiratory particles. That webinar has a lot of the science with graphs and pictures about airborne transmission. The webinar was mainly directed to singing but can be applied to sporting events and enclosed workspaces too.
โ I’m also linking to another article written about being in an enclosed workspace/church/area and how to protect yourself and others. (Enclosed workspace post below in sources).
๐๐๐ฌ๐ค ๐ฎ๐ฉ, ๐๐ซ๐ข๐๐ง๐๐ฌ. ๐๐ง๐, ๐ฅ๐๐ญ’๐ฌ ๐ฉ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ญ๐ ๐๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ฐ๐ก๐๐ญ๐ก๐๐ซ ๐จ๐ซ ๐ง๐จ๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฏ๐ข๐ซ๐ฎ๐ฌ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐ข๐ซ๐๐จ๐ง๐ ๐๐ข๐ง๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐๐ฐ๐๐ฒ. ๐๐๐๐ซ ๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ฌ๐ค. Masks work really, really well.
-Friendly neighbor epidemiologist
Sources:
CDC Website: https://www.cdc.gov/โฆ/prevent-gettinโฆ/how-covid-spreads.html
WHO letter: https://academic.oup.com/โฆ/โฆ/doi/10.1093/cid/ciaa939/5867798
COVID-19 in the air of ICU room: https://www.medrxiv.org/conteโฆ/10.1101/2020.08.03.20167395v1
Webinar on airborne transmission: https://tinyurl.com/y9vcnhco
The risk in enclosed spaces: https://www.facebook.com/friendlyneighborepidemiologist/posts/167293291559995
