This is particularly important now, as government-mandated lockdowns ease and businesses reopen. This type of guidance has hampered efforts that could prevent airborne transmission, such as measures that improve ventilation of indoor spaces and limits on indoor gatherings, say the researchers in the commentary: “We are concerned that the lack of recognition of the risk of airborne transmission of COVID-19 and the lack of clear recommendations on the control measures against the airborne virus will have significant consequences: people may think that they are fully protected by adhering to the current recommendations, but in fact, additional airborne interventions are needed for further reduction of infection risk.” These are thought to travel relatively short distances and drop quickly from the air. The agency maintains that the virus is spread mainly by contaminated surfaces and by droplets bigger than aerosols that are generated by coughing, sneezing and talking. “The message about airborne transmission is there,” Morawska says.įor months, the WHO had steadfastly pushed back against the idea that there is a significant threat of the coronavirus being transmitted by aerosols that can accumulate in poorly ventilated venues and be carried on air currents. The sprint to solve coronavirus protein structures - and disarm them with drugs (The WHO told Nature that it had been working on this brief for a month, and that it was not a result of the commentary.) It maintains that more research is needed “given the possible implications of such route of transmission”, but acknowledges that short-range aerosol transmission cannot be ruled out in crowded, poorly ventilated spaces. On 9 July, the WHO issued a scientific brief on viral transmission. At a 7 July press conference, Benedetta Allegranzi, technical leader of the WHO task force on infection control said: “We have to be open to this evidence and understand its implications regarding the modes of transmission, and also regarding the precautions that need to be taken.” In response to the commentary, the WHO softened its position. The researchers are frustrated that key agencies, such as the World Health Organization (WHO), haven’t been heeding their advice in their public messages. They also call for preventive measures to reduce this type of risk. On 6 July, Morawska and aerosol scientist Donald Milton at the University of Maryland, College Park, supported by an international group of 237 other clinicians, infectious-disease physicians, epidemiologists, engineers and aerosol scientists, published a commentary 1 in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases that urges the medical community and public-health authorities to acknowledge the potential for airborne transmission. After months of debate about whether people can transmit the virus through exhaled air, there is growing concern among scientists about this transmission route. But the sign might be outdated.Ĭonverging lines of evidence indicate that SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, can pass from person to person in tiny droplets called aerosols that waft through the air and accumulate over time. She has no problem with that: “Hand washing is always a good measure,” says the aerosol scientist, who works at the Queensland University of Technology.
In Lidia Morawska’s home city of Brisbane on Australia’s east coast, roadside signs broadcast a simple message: ‘Wash hands, save lives’. As restrictions are lifted, many researchers worry that the risk of catching COVID-19 will go up in crowded indoor spaces.
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