airborne

Early in the pandemic, droplets from coughs and contaminated surfaces were seen as the main routes of transmission – which is why social distancing and hand washing were highlighted as vital measures. China denied for a long time (as did the WHO!) that the virus was being passed airborne, by breathing in the exhalations of infected people.

But the possibility of a third route - what’s called "aerosol transmission" – in which infectious virus particles linger in the air, was only recently acknowledged by the World Health Organization.  

Airborne virus particles probably play a role in "superspreading events" where the infection is passed to large numbers of people in poorly ventilated spaces such as churches and restaurants.

And while outdoors the virus can be scattered by the breeze, and weakened by sunlight, indoors it can survive in the air for up to five or more hours.

One recommendation is for people to wear masks to reduce how much virus they might release, and to reduce how much virus they breathe in. The less virus released the better, and the less breathed in, the better. Illness is less severe with lower rates of virus intake.  Wear a mask indoors and outdoors in crowds and even medium level population densities. 

The World Health Organization keeps claiming that the Covid-19 virus, known as Coronavirus or SARS-CoV-2 is not being transmitted by aerosol transmission - that is by people who are infected breathing out microscopic particles of Covid-19 that remain in the air for minutes or hours, which can then infect un-infected people who breath those particles in unknowingly. We say the WHO is dead wrong about this. That is why we recommend against going to an indoor gym or fitness center, a movie theatre - especially a small one - or any large indoor gatherings at this time. 

Coronavirus particles can remain infectious in the air for more than an hour, possibly three or four hours, remaining suspended in the air and travelling some distance away from the person who'd breathed them out, with laboratory studies showing it could remain infectious in the air for more than an hour. Replenishing the air in a room was important to avoid spreading the virus, rather than recirculating the air like some air conditioning systems do.

Because of these recent studies, we must assume that it CAN be transmitted this way and modify our behavior accordingly.