As the nation reopens after COVID-19 restrictions, people across the country are making decisions about going back to the office or putting their children back in classrooms. But how can you make the right call? We asked the experts how to improve indoor air quality, and what questions to ask your boss or school administrator.… Continue reading USA Today: Ventilation and air filtration play a key role in preventing the spread of COVID-19 indoors
In the early days of the pandemic, researchers proposed that the main route of SARS-CoV-2 transmission was either via large droplets that people exhaled in a projectile motion through coughs and sneezes or via surface contamination. Recent work, however, has uncovered that virus particles can also infect others via long-range spread. Behind this long-range spread are bioaerosolsTrusted Source, which… Continue reading Medical News Today: Schools will need more than fresh air to stop COVID-19: MIT study
Ten streams of evidence collectively support the hypothesis that SARS-CoV-2 is transmitted primarily by the airborne route.
The distinction between droplet and airborne transmission has enormous consequences. To combat droplets, a leading precaution is to wash hands frequently with soap and water. To fight infectious aerosols, the air itself is the enemy. In hospitals, that means expensive isolation wards and N95 masks for all medical staff.
The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed major gaps in our understanding of the transmission of viruses through the air. These gaps slowed recognition of airborne transmission of the disease, contributed to muddled public health policies and impeded clear messaging on how best to slow transmission of COVID-19.
Wang et al. review recent advances in understanding airborne transmission gained from studying the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections and other respiratory pathogens. The authors suggest that airborne transmission may be the dominant form of transmission for several respiratory pathogens, including SARS-CoV-2, and that further understanding of the mechanisms underlying infection… Continue reading Science: Airborne Transmission of Respiratory Viruses
This evidence brief summarizes the scientific literature providing evidence on SARS-CoV-2 aerosol transmission published up to March 12, 2021.