Scientists are specifically looking at how humidity, temperature and UV light affects the virus. PHOTO: REUTERS/FILE

WHO considers new precautions for medical staff as coronavirus shows signs of 'going airborne'

Scientists are specifically looking at how humidity, temperature and UV light affects the virus


News Desk March 23, 2020
The World Health Organisation (WHO) is considering ‘airborne precautions’ for medical staff after a new study unveiled the sustainability of novel coronavirus in the air up to certain hours in some settings.

The virus is transmitted through droplets, or little bits of liquid, mostly through sneezing or coughing. However, World health officials now say it can go airborne, staying suspended in the air depending on factors such as heat and humidity, CNBC reported.

“When you do an aerosol-generating procedure like in a medical care facility, you have the possibility to what we call aerosolise these particles, which means they can stay in the air a little bit longer,” Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, head of WHO’s emerging diseases and zoonosis unit, told reporters during a virtual news conference.

Air quality improves in quarantined areas

She added: “It’s very important that health-care workers take additional precautions when they’re working on patients and doing those procedures”.

However, scientists are specifically looking at how humidity, temperature and ultraviolet lighting affects the disease as well as how long it lives on different surfaces, including steel.

Touching upon how health officials use the information to make sure WHO’s guidance is appropriate, Kerkhove said: “So far ... we are confident that the guidance that we have is appropriate”.

Health officials recommend medical staff wear so-called N95 masks because they filter out about 95% of all liquid or airborne particles, adding that in health-care facilities, WHO makes sure health-care workers use standard droplet precautions with the exception... that they’re doing an aerosol-generating procedure.

Robert Redfield, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told Congress last month that the agency was aggressively evaluating how long COVID-19 can survive, particularly on surfaces.

“On copper and steel, it’s pretty typical, it’s pretty much about two hours,” Redfield said at a House hearing. “But I will say on other surfaces — cardboard or plastic — it’s longer, and so we are looking at this.”

Redfield added infections contracted from surfaces rather than through the air could have contributed to the outbreak on the Diamond Princess cruise ship.

Read the original story on CNBC

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