Coronavirus Turns Airborne Posing Greater Threat to the World

The WHO does have concrete scientific proof that COVID-19 is airborne but the latest trend in its global transmission raises the possibility of the virus turning airborne.

The aerial transmission of Coronavirus was not recognized for quite some time since its outbreak. However, the latest developments and fresh researches prove it has turned airborne now.

Nearly 14 months after COVID-19 declared a pandemic following the outbreak of the SARS-CoV-1 virus (the pathogen causing the disease) at Wuhan in China in December 2019, the WHO recently said new pieces of evidence are emerging that prove it is airborne.

The Scientific Stand on Coronavirus Spread

The WHO, for about a year, held that coronavirus mainly spreads by the way of droplets emitting from the nose and mouth of an infected person. But in the middle of 2020, intensified medical researches gave evidence that Novel Coronavirus may have turned airborne.

In 2021, the WHO admitted that SARS-CoV-2 travels by air and remains in the indoor airspace for quite a few hours. It said there is a possibility that the virus transmits through aerosols and floats in the air for a long time.

Updating its information based on the latest researches, the WHO said transmission through aerosol is more common in a space or room poorly ventilated and having a large number of people or gathering.

Here, we find an answer to the question Is Coronavirus Airborne? Yes, coronavirus now is stated to be airborne by the WHO.

Latest Scientific Claim On Coronavirus Being Airborne

The latest researches prove SARS-CoV-2 is transmitted primarily by the airborne route. Following are its main arguments:

• Super Spreading of COVID-19 across the globe indicates it is airborne otherwise it could not have covered the entire world. In fact, the study of space or rooms, ventilation, cruise ships and ships, wet market and slaughterhouses, jails, care homes, schools and colleges, offices and similar places prove the disease spread through the air. It supports aerosol transmission.
• The airborne mode of transmission became evident in the case of asymptomatic or presymptomatic transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from people who are not coughing or sneezing. It has led to conclude recently that nearly 59% of transmission globally was caused by the air.
• A strong argument about SARS-CoV-2 being airborne is that cases are higher in badly ventilated rooms / indoors but comparatively far less in well-ventilated spaces and outdoors.
• The virus has been detected in the air and scientific laboratory testing proved it can stay active in the air for up to three hours. The air sample from an infected person’s car also proves it.
• Strong evidence that SARS-CoV-2 is airborne came after it was found that the air filters and building ducts in hospitals with COVID-19 patients had the virus’s presence. Such places could be reached only by aerosols.
• In the case of caged animals in zoos, it has found that they are suffering from COVID-19. The latest studies showed they could be infected only through the air as no infected human being could go there.

The Conclusion

It is in this backdrop that we find some countries including Australia and the USA says the virus is airborne. While Australia has just officially admitted the possibility of the virus being airborne, the US Centers for Disease Control also acknowledged now that SARS-CoV-2 may be traveling by air.

The WHO has already warned about the airborne status of the coronavirus. It cautioned the world that the virus is getting transmitted through the air that we inhale and breathe.

In fact, the two other forms of Coronaviruses – Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome (MARS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) – are airborne. Hence, it was also doubted that very likely SARS-CoV-2 is airborne.