Since the outbreak of the novel corona virus, science has been primarily concerned with one question: How exactly is the virus transmitted – and is it also possible to transmit it via the air? A study in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) has sparked the debate again.
<! –
—
Wearing masks in everyday life is currently not considered useful
–
In it, the authors from the USA come to the “worrying result that the transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus by aerosol”, that is, in the form of suspended particles, is quite possible. However, experts advise against hasty conclusions: According to them, the study in no way suggests that the virus infects people by staying in the air when a sick person coughs.
To date, it is only certain that SARS-CoV-2 is mainly transmitted via the respiratory tract and through physical contact. That is why the health authorities keep advising to keep a distance of at least one meter.
Virus survives three hours in the air
In their study, the NEJM researchers demonstrated that the virus can survive as suspended particles in the air for three hours. To do this, they sprayed the virus with a kind of atomizer. However, her colleagues point out that the experiment does not correspond to reality very much: If a sick person has to cough or sneeze, “compared to an aerosol, the droplets fall to the ground fairly quickly” because they are heavier than the suspended particles from a spray, says Paul Hunter from the British University of East Anglia.
Hunter sticks to his previous assessment of the risks, especially when someone stands too close to an infected person or touches surfaces on which droplets of saliva adhere. After touching contaminated surfaces, there is a risk of running your hand over your face and becoming infected through your nose, eyes or mouth.
Detectable for days on plastic and stainless steel
In the study published by NEJM, the virus could be detected on plastic or stainless steel surfaces for up to three days and up to 24 hours on cardboard. However, whether you actually get infected depends on the “amount of viruses”. “So our advice is always to wash your hands carefully as a precaution,” says Hunter.
On the other hand, transmission of the virus via air cannot currently be completely ruled out. “We cannot completely brush aside the idea that the virus is able to travel a certain distance in the air,” said renowned US immunologist Anthony Fauci to NBC. If the hypothesis is confirmed, this would also radically change the previous advice on the most suitable protective measures – for example, the assumption that it makes little sense to wear respiratory masks in everyday life if you are not sick.
(APA / red, photo: APA / APA (AFP))
–
