Protect yourself from possible COVID-19 airborne transmission
Fears of contracting the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) have reached new heights as the World Health Organization (WHO) acknowledged a letter signed by over 200 scientists stating that people may get infected with droplets floating in the air.
The advice to stay protected remains the same: Always wear a face mask, wash hands constantly, maintain physical distancing, and avoid crowded areas, particularly indoors.
On Thursday, WHO released a report sharing how the virus is transmitted from person to person, through the air, or through certain medical procedures called “aerosol generating procedures.”
The report stated that the virus transmission occurs primarily through direct, indirect, or close contact with infected people through saliva and respiratory secretions or through their respiratory droplets when an infected person coughs, sneezes, talks, or sings. These droplets can also fall on objects.
What's scary about the droplets is that they can float in the air and travel across an entire room.
Stephanie Dancer, a consultant medical microbiologist in the UK, told Al Jazeera that the droplets and aerosol lasted up to three hours under experimental conditions. The longevity of droplets and aerosols will actually depend on the country's current temperature, humidity, ultraviolet light, and presence of other air particles.
“Microscopic aerosols can project at least six meters in indoor environments, and possibly even further if dynamic air currents are operating. The distance depends upon how large the aerosol is,” she explained.
Dr. Dean Winslow, an infectious disease physician at Stanford Health Care, told Healthline that the risk of getting the disease is much higher indoors than outdoors.
Crowded areas such as bars and restaurants enable aerosols to stay afloat for a significant period of time, whereas the aerosols evaporate and disperse much more quickly outdoors. "It’s a product of the exposure – that is the amount of virus present in the air or atmosphere – times the time you’re exposed," he explained.
The Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) has allowed customers to dine in at restaurants that fall under the General Community Quarantine (GCQ) starting June 15. Barbershops and salons have been allowed to operate starting June 7.
However, the IATF said that businesses such as gyms, cinemas, theaters, karaoke bars, massage and grooming parlors, and many others should still remain closed.