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Is the coronavirus airborne? Experts can’t agree

The World Health Organization says the evidence is not compelling, but scientists warn that gathering sufficient data could take years and cost lives.
  1. Dyani Lewis
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Since early reports revealed that a new coronavirus was spreading rapidly between people, researchers have been trying to pin down whether it can travel through the air. Health officials say the virus is transported only through droplets that are coughed or sneezed out — either directly, or on objects. But some scientists say there is preliminary evidence that airborne transmission — in which the disease spreads in the much smaller particles from exhaled air, known as aerosols — is occurring, and that precautions, such as increasing ventilation indoors, should be recommended to reduce the risk of infection.

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Nature 580, 175 (2020)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-020-00974-w

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