• Latest
  • Trending
  • All
  • News
  • Business
  • Lifestyle
WHO Reviewing Report Urging New Guidance Over Airborne Spread of Coronavirus

WHO Reviewing Report Urging New Guidance Over Airborne Spread of Coronavirus

July 6, 2020
MICHAEL GLASSNER: Socialist Fantasy, Urban Decay: What New York’s Mayoral Race Means For America

MICHAEL GLASSNER: Socialist Fantasy, Urban Decay: What New York’s Mayoral Race Means For America

July 6, 2025
CHRIS JOHNSON And AIDEN BUZZETTI: The Left’s Prophesy Of Environmental Apocalypse Demands Revival On The Right

CHRIS JOHNSON And AIDEN BUZZETTI: The Left’s Prophesy Of Environmental Apocalypse Demands Revival On The Right

July 6, 2025
STEVE MILLOY: President Trump: Terminate The Green New Scam Now

STEVE MILLOY: President Trump: Terminate The Green New Scam Now

July 6, 2025
DAVID BLACKMON: The OBBBA Resets The Energy Policy Playing Field

DAVID BLACKMON: The OBBBA Resets The Energy Policy Playing Field

July 5, 2025
MANDY GUNASEKARA: Puerto Rico Saw The Light — Why Won’t Honolulu?

MANDY GUNASEKARA: Puerto Rico Saw The Light — Why Won’t Honolulu?

July 5, 2025
MATT MOWERS: After NATO Summit, Europe’s Free Ride Is On The Line

MATT MOWERS: After NATO Summit, Europe’s Free Ride Is On The Line

July 5, 2025
JENNY BETH MARTIN: A Socialist Victory – And A Warning For America’s 249th Birthday

JENNY BETH MARTIN: A Socialist Victory – And A Warning For America’s 249th Birthday

July 4, 2025
Trump Says Friday Is Elon Musk’s ‘Last Day, but Not Really’

Musk Continues Push For America Party

July 4, 2025
Trump Signs ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Into Law

Trump Signs ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Into Law

July 4, 2025
Lee Greenwood on ‘God Bless the USA’ Legacy: ‘That’s Where Patriotism Starts’

Lee Greenwood on ‘God Bless the USA’ Legacy: ‘That’s Where Patriotism Starts’

July 4, 2025
Trump Seeking Military Costumes for Parade

Trump Lambasts Dems Who Voted Against ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’

July 4, 2025
WILL SELLERS: Misunderstanding The Road To Independence

WILL SELLERS: Misunderstanding The Road To Independence

July 4, 2025
  • Donald Trump
  • State of the Union
  • Elon Musk
  • Tariffs
  • Congress
  • Faith
  • Immigration
Monday, July 7, 2025
  • Login
IJR
  • Politics
  • US News
  • Commentary
  • World News
  • Faith
  • Latest Polls
No Result
View All Result
IJR
No Result
View All Result
Home News

WHO Reviewing Report Urging New Guidance Over Airborne Spread of Coronavirus

by Reuters
July 6, 2020 at 6:11 pm
in News
245 7
0
WHO Reviewing Report Urging New Guidance Over Airborne Spread of Coronavirus

FILE PHOTO: The ultrastructural morphology exhibited by the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV), which was identified as the cause of an outbreak of respiratory illness first detected in Wuhan, China, is seen in an illustration released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. January 29, 2020. Alissa Eckert, MS; Dan Higgins, MAM/CDC/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo

491
SHARES
1.4k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

The World Health Organization (WHO) is reviewing a report urging it to update guidance on the novel coronavirus after more than 200 scientists, in a letter to the health agency, outlined evidence the virus can spread in tiny airborne particles.

The WHO says SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, spreads primarily through small droplets expelled from the nose and mouth of an infected person that quickly sink to the ground.

But in an open letter to the Geneva-based agency, published on Monday in the Clinical Infectious Diseases journal, 239 scientists in 32 countries outlined evidence that they say shows floating virus particles can infect people who breathe them in.

Because those smaller particles can linger in the air, the scientists are urging WHO to update its guidance.

“We are aware of the article and are reviewing its contents with our technical experts,” WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic said on Monday in an email.

How frequently the coronavirus can spread by the airborne or aerosol route – as opposed to by larger droplets in coughs and sneezes – is not clear.

Any change in the WHO’s assessment of risk of transmission could affect its current advice on keeping 1-metre (3.3 feet) of physical distancing. Governments, which rely on the agency for guidance policy, may also have to adjust public health measures aimed at curbing the spread of the virus.

Although the WHO has said it is considering aerosols as a possible route of transmission, it has yet to be convinced that the evidence warrants a change in guidance.

Dr. Michael Osterholm, an infectious disease expert at the University of Minnesota, said the WHO has long been reluctant to acknowledge aerosol transmission of influenza, “in spite of compelling data,” and sees the current controversy as part of that simmering debate.

“I think the frustration level has finally boiled over with regard to the role that airborne transmission plays in diseases like influenza and SARS-CoV-2,” Osterholm said.

Professor Babak Javid, an infectious disease consultant at Cambridge University Hospitals, said airborne transmission of the virus is possible and even likely, but said evidence over how long the virus stays airborne is lacking.

If it can hang in the air for long periods of time, even after an infected person leaves that space, that could affect the measures healthcare workers and others take to protect themselves.

WHO guidance to health workers, dated June 29, says SARS-CoV-2 is primarily transmitted through respiratory droplets and on surfaces.

But airborne transmission is possible in some circumstances, such as when performing intubation and aerosol-generating procedures, the WHO says. They advise medical workers performing such procedures to wear heavy duty N95 respiratory masks and other protective equipment in an adequately ventilated room.

Dr. William Hanage, an epidemiologist at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, said the report under review at the WHO “makes many reasonable points about the evidence that this mode of transmission can happen, and they should be taken seriously.”

But how often airborne transmission happens, which is unknown, also matters.

“If airborne transmission is possible but rare, then eliminating it wouldn’t have a huge impact,” he said in emailed comments.

Officials at South Korea’s Centers for Disease Control said on Monday they were continuing to discuss various issues about COVID-19, including the possibility of airborne transmission. They said more investigations and evidence were needed.

(Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay and Julie Steenhuysen; Additional reporting by Sangmi Cha in Seoul; Editing by Alex Richardson and Tom Brown)

Tags: Coronavirus OutbreakWorld Health Organization
Share196Tweet123
Reuters

Reuters

Reuters is an international news organization.

Advertisements

Top Stories June 10th
Top Stories June 7th
Top Stories June 6th
Top Stories June 3rd
Top Stories May 30th
Top Stories May 29th
Top Stories May 24th
Top Stories May 23rd
Top Stories May 21st
Top Stories May 17th

Join Over 6M Subscribers

We’re organizing an online community to elevate trusted voices on all sides so that you can be fully informed.





IJR

    Copyright © 2024 IJR

Trusted Voices On All Sides

  • About Us
  • GDPR Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service
  • Editorial Standards & Corrections Policy
  • Subscribe to IJR

Follow Us

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Politics
  • US News
  • Commentary
  • World News
  • Faith
  • Latest Polls

    Copyright © 2024 IJR

Top Stories June 10th Top Stories June 7th Top Stories June 6th Top Stories June 3rd Top Stories May 30th Top Stories May 29th Top Stories May 24th Top Stories May 23rd Top Stories May 21st Top Stories May 17th