This morning We woke up to yet more disturbing news about COVID-19. Over 200 (some reports say 400) scientists worldwide have asked the World Health Organization (WHO) to reclassify COVID-19 as an airborne virus and not just a respiratory virus.
The difference is huge and will change how strict our response will be.
Right now we know the virus spreads in large particles through coughing, sneezing and talking. Because these droplets are heavy they simply drop to the floor. You need close, prolonged contact with someone to become infected. This is what makes masks so vital. This is why only 6 feet separation is needed. (Its probably much less than 6 feet but err on the side of caution).
Airborne, or aerosol spreading means the virus travels on much smaller particles and, like a can of aerosol, it can hang in the air for a long time and travel much farther than it can in larger droplets. Some scientists are saying it might even be able to get into your air-conditioning (though almost certainly in concentrations too small to be infectious).
The WHO is the health ambassador for the world. It gets its data from scientists and doctors around the globe, so publishing has consequences. With no documented cases and a small percentage of scientists wanting them to call it airborne (aerosol) they cannot change what has been proven to work through experience without some scientific evidence.
The WHO has not agreed to change how COVID-19 is transmitted because there is no proof, not even one tiny study, that shows aerosol transmission. There are no documented cases of transmission this way either. Even if it is eventually proven to be aerosol, the virus is almost impossible to capture and detect except in a controlled environment. Therefore, we will still not know how far it can travel, how long it can live in that state and how much of a dose you will need to become infected.
We need to be careful what we take to heart. The media has had knee-jerk reactions to COVID-19, resulting in each report being of equal gravity. The public wants to know everything about this virus but in the process of telling us, they do not give us a degree of certitude. As a result, we see all information as equal. It is not the media’s job to assess, it is our responsibility to read and digest information and then give it the importance it deserves. We do not need to panic immediately just because we see it on TV.
As it stands, this story might fade off by the end of the week, or it may take off and change our world again. Right now it is a wait and see scenario.
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