Coronavirus airborne transmission: Finally, after a series of requests from groups of scientists from around the world to acknowledge the threat of coronavirus spreading through air, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has accepted the possibility of the airborne spread of the novel coronavirus. WHO has now said that an airborne spread especially in indoor, crowded, and spaces lacking ventilation for fresh air over a prolonged period of time with infected persons cannot be ruled out.
WHO on July 09 said that it did evaluation studies on Covid outbreaks happening at restaurants, choir practices, and fitness classes and the evidence is suggestive of coronavirus might be spreading through air transmission.
Recently, group of scientists from Australia and the United States has opined through an open letter in a medical journal that the possibility of an air transmission of the coronavirus diseases can’t be ruled out and they had made an appeal to international health authorities that also includes WHO to recognise the threat and adopt some effective measures to combat it.
The group of scientists that comprises more than 200 scientists of the world have said that the WHO so far has downplayed the risk of coronavirus escaping through the air and their goal was to make the WHO acknowledge the threat of this mode of transmission. One among the group of 200 scientists, Jose Jimenez told Reuters that the open letter by them is by no means an attack on the WHO and rather it’s a scientific debate. Repeated repudiation from the WHO compelled them to go public with their observations, Jimenez added in his statement to Reuters.
Until the latest revelation, the WHO had ruled out the possibility of coronavirus spreading through air except for certain risky medical procedures while admitting the infected patient in hospitals and providing them with artificial respiratory equipment such as ventilators.
