Medical staff wear masks and protective suits outside an isolation ward in Kochi, Kerala, as states across India mobilise to tackle coronavirus (file photo)
The World Health Organisation on Monday stated that coronavirus can't be transmitted through air, thus denying earlier reports that the new strain of virus spreads through aerosol transmission. "Chinese authorities reported the possibility of aerosol transmission in a relatively closed environment with prolonged exposure like ICUs-CCUs in hospitals, but more epic data analysis is needed to understand this," the apex global body's south-east Asia unit said on Monday.
Earlier studies suggested that the coronavirus could survive in air for several hours in fine particles known as aerosols. Research in scientific journals further suggested that COVID-19 “can be detected up to 3 hours after aerosolization and can infect cells throughout that time period,” as reported in medRxiv database.
Another research, published in the prestigious The New England Journal of Medicine, reckoned that the virus could stay in suspended droplet form in air for about half an hour. The research also suggested that the virus lives the longest on plastic and steel, living on these surfaces for upto 72 hours.
The clarification by the WHO comes amid the rising number of cases across the globe, as authorities scramble for preventive measures in form of lockdowns.
More than 3.53 lakh positive cases of coronavirus have surfaced since the outbreak, with more than 15,400 deaths reported, as of Monday.
Also read: Curfew imposed in Punjab to combat coronavirus spread
