Saturday, October 5, 2024

WHO Acknowledges ‘Emerging Evidence’ of COVID-19 Being Airborne

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Cape Town — The World Health Organisation has responded to an open letter by a group of scientists urging the WHO to address the possibility of COVID-19 virus being airborne.

The letter opens with: “We  appeal  to  the  medical  community  and  to  the  relevant  national  and  international  bodies  to recognize the potential for airborne spread of COVID-19. There is significant potential for inhalation exposure to viruses in microscopic respiratory droplets (microdroplets) at short to medium distances (up to several meters, or room scale), and we are advocating for the use of preventive measures to mitigate this route of airborne transmission.”

The WHO technical leads spoke to the letter during the organisation’s daily briefing on the pandemic.

“We have discussed and collaborated with many of the signatories over the past few months – and received contributions from many of the signatories. We acknowledge that there is emerging evidence in this field, as in all other fields, regarding the COVID-19 virus and pandemic, and therefore we believe we have to be open to this evidence and understand its implications regarding the modes of transmission and also regarding the precautions that need to be taken,” said Professor Benedetta Allegranzi, WHO’s Technical Lead for Infection Prevention and Control on Tuesday. Read more…

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