The World Health Organisation has acknowledged the possibility of the airborne spread of Covid-19 under certain conditions. Two scientists from Australia, and the US wrote an open letter published in a journal writing that studies have shown “beyond any reasonable doubt that viruses are released during exhalation, talking and coughing in micro-droplets small enough to remain aloft in the air.”
The researchers, along with 200 others, appealed for national and international authorities, including WHO to adopt more stringent protective measures. While the organisation has long dismissed the possibility that the coronavirus is spread in the air except for certain risky medical procedures, it noted last week that studies evaluating Covid outbreaks in restaurants, choir practices and fitness classes suggested the virus may have spread in the air.
WHO said airborne spread “particularly in specific indoor locations, such as crowded and inadequately ventilated spaces over a prolonged period of time with infected persons cannot be ruled out.” Officials also pointed out other modes of transmission, including contaminated surfaces or close contacts between people in such indoor environments.
The WHO has repeatedly stated such transmission is “rare” despite a growing consensus among scientists globally that asymptomatic spread likely accounts for a significant amount of transmission. “The extent of truly asymptomatic infection in the community remains unknown,” WHO said.
