Additional Evidence Demonstrates COVID-19’s Airborne Spread

Two recent studies—one in China and the other in the Netherlands—show the ability of COVID-19 to quickly spread via aerosols, and the role of poor ventilation in exacerbating the virus’ transmission. Chinese researchers tested breath samples from hospitalized patients with and without COVID-19 in addition to air and surface samples. Of the breath samples tested, nearly 27% were positive for RNA from the novel coronavirus, while only 3.8% of air samples and 5.4% of surface samples tested positive. Researchers assert this demonstrates that COVID-19 is more likely spread via aerosols than contaminated surfaces or large droplets.

In the Netherlands, researchers reported on COVID-19 in seven departments within a nursing home. Only one department had an outbreak of SARS-Co-V2, while the other six did not. The six unaffected departments had fresh air circulating regularly through open windows. The one department with the COVID-19 outbreak had a system that recirculated unfiltered internal air once certain levels of carbon dioxide were detected. The Dutch researchers suggest that the recirculation of indoor air is a risk factor for the aerosol spread of the novel coronavirus. Read more here.