AIRBORNE TRANSMISSION OF CORONA VIRUS LIKELY TO BE IN HOSPITAL

SETTINGS

By: Norbert Gaffud Soriano

Tuguegarao City- On February 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced an
official name for the disease causing the 2019 novel corona virus outbreak that was first
identified in the Province of Wuhan in China. The new name of the disease is Corona Virus
Disease 2019, hence it was abbreviated as COVID-19.

In earlier studies, COVID-19 was transmitted through droplet contact or contact transmission;
however scientists are now taking into consideration that it can be airborne and affect front liners
who are battling the deadly pandemic. The results of the preliminary research on the Corona
Virus found out that the virus can only be caught by people only if they are in medical facilities.

DOH Spokesperson Maria Rosario Vergeire in a briefing last Wednesday said that the DOH is
taking into consideration that the airborne transmission of the Corona virus is for confined
settings only such as in medical facilities.

This was a statement based on an article recently published by the World Health Organization
official saying that medical staff should consider “airborne precautions” which was also based on
a new study published in preprint database medRxiv which showed that the novel coronavirus or
severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 that is the cause of COVID-19 is able to survive
in the air as aerosols or fine particles for up to three hours.

It was also found out that the virus is detectable on copper for up to four hours, up to 24 hours on
cardboard and up to two to three days on plastic and stainless steel. These findings came from
study authors from Princeton University of California, Los Angeles and health officials from the
United States.

The results are still preliminary as they have not been evaluated according to these scientists so
therefore the findings must not yet be used to guide clinical practice.

Spokesperson Vergiere also emphasized that the virus mostly affects those individuals who have
had preexisitng medical conditions as well as the older people and that it is acquired through
droplets from the nose or mouth when an individual infected with COVID-19 coughs or sneezes.

These droplets can land on objects and surfaces and remain there for hours. When people touch
these objects or surfaces and touch their eyes, nose or mouth or breathing in these secretions. It is
also the reason why the WHO puts into emphasis the importance of maintaining a social distance
of one meter or three feet from a sick person.