WHO fears Covid is now spread through the air

THERE is ‘emerging evidence’ that Covid-19 could be spread through particles that linger in the air, the World Health Organization has said.

Prof Benedetta Allegranzi, technical lead for infection prevention and control, said airborne transmission in ‘crowded, closed, poorly ventilated’ settings could not be ruled out.

WHO guidelines focus on the virus being spread primarily through droplets from the nose or mouth, which are expelled when an infected person coughs, sneezes or speaks.

But a group of 239 experts have outlined studies they say suggest coronavirus can spread through smaller particles that linger in the air and current methods of prevention may be ‘insufficient’.

But Prof Allegranzi said, for now, the evidence of airborne transmission was not ‘definitive’.