The World Health Organization on Thursday acknowledged that coronavirus may linger in the air in crowded indoor spaces, spreading from per...
The World Health Organization on Thursday acknowledged that coronavirus may linger in the air in crowded indoor spaces, spreading from person to person, reported AP. This came days after more than 200 scientists had urged the agency to revisit the research and revise its position.
WHO has long dismissed the possibility that the coronavirus spreads through the air except for certain risky medical procedures. However, on Tuesday, the WHO acknowledged for the first time that there was “evidence emerging” that the transmission of the coronavirus is airborne. Benedetta Allegranzi, WHO’s technical lead for infection prevention and control, had said at a media briefing in Geneva that such evidence was emerging, but it was not definitive. “The possibility of airborne transmission in public settings – especially in very specific conditions, crowded, closed, poorly ventilated settings that have been described, cannot be ruled out,” she had said. “However, the evidence needs to be gathered and interpreted, and we continue to support this.”
On Thursday, the WHO noted that studies evaluating Covid-19 outbreaks in restaurants, choir practices and fitness classes suggested the virus might have been spread in the air. It said that airborne spread “particularly in specific indoor locations, such as crowded and inadequately ventilated spaces over a prolonged period of time...
