Geneva: Maria Van Kerkhove, technical lead on the COVID-19 pandemic at the WHO, said Friday that airborne transmission of the new coronavirus had always been a concern but that droplets appeared to be the most common infection route.
“Aerosol transmission is one of the modes of transmission that we have been concerned about since the beginning, particularly in healthcare settings … where we know these droplets can be aerosolised – which means can stay in the air longer,” she told an online briefing from Geneva.
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The WHO released new guidelines on the transmission of the coronavirus Thursday that acknowledged some reports of airborne transmission but stopped short of confirming that it spreads through the air, a route that cannot be blocked by the social distancing now common around the world.
Meanwhile, COVI*D-19 cases across the globe keep rising. The United States reported at least 62,500 new COVID-19 cases Friday, a record daily increase for a third day in a row, according to a Reuters tally.
Seven states reported record increases in cases Friday: Alaska, Georgia, Louisiana, Montana, Ohio, Utah and Wisconsin.
Another 48 COVID-19 patients died in Britain, bringing the total coronavirus-related death toll in the country to 44,650, the British Department of Health and Social Care said.
Agencies
