Under mounting pressure from scientists, the World Health Organization allowed that the coronavirus might float in the air and issued new guidelines recommending people avoid enclosed spaces with poor ventilation.
The deadly outbreak among members of a choir has stunned health officials, who have concluded that the virus was almost certainly transmitted through the air from one or more people without symptoms.
“WHO’s slow motion on this issue is unfortunately slowing the control of the pandemic,” said Jose Jimenez, a University of Colorado chemist.“Masks should be worn in indoor settings, away from home, at all times, no matter the distance,” Jimenez said. “Aerosols are most effective in transmission at short distances, but they can mix widely within a room and lead to infection, as many super-spreading cases have shown already.
Skeptics of airborne transmission say particles larger than 5 microns are too heavy to travel more than six feet. Donald Milton, a University of Maryland aerosol expert, said “peer-reviewed scientific publications clearly demonstrate that particles even as large as 30 microns can move on air currents and travel more than 10 meters indoors.”
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