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Mounting evidence suggests coronavirus is airborne — but health advice has not caught up

Governments are starting to change policies amid concerns that tiny droplets can carry SARS-CoV-2. And after months of denying the importance of this, the World Health Organization is reconsidering its stance.
  1. Dyani Lewis

    1. Dyani Lewis is a freelance journalist in Melbourne, Australia.

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In Lidia Morawska’s home city of Brisbane on Australia’s east coast, roadside signs broadcast a simple message: ‘Wash hands, save lives’. She has no problem with that: “Hand washing is always a good measure,” says the aerosol scientist, who works at the Queensland University of Technology. But the sign might be outdated.

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Nature 583, 510-513 (2020)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-020-02058-1

Updates & Corrections

  • Update 23 July 2020: This story has been updated to refer to a scientific brief that the WHO issued on 9 July, and to add a reaction from Lidia Morawska.

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