Regent Barbers owner Alan Kelly (L), who wears PPE (personal protective equipment), a face mask, or cover as a precaution against the spread of COVID-19, reflects in a mirror as he cuts the hair of a customer, also wearing a covered face, in Dublin on June 29, 2020, as blocking measures begin to ease.
PAUL FE | AFP via Getty Images
A group of 239 scientists from 32 different countries are reportedly preparing to publish an open letter to the World Health Organization in the coming days, urging the United Nations health agency to update its recommendations for the coronavirus. .
The group of scientists argues that the WHO needs to give more weight to the role of the airborne spread of Covid-19, the New York Times reported Saturday.
Experts are expected to publish the letter and findings supporting their view in the medical journal Clinical Infectious Diseases this week.
It appears to contradict previous evidence that the virus is transmitted from person to person through drops from the nose or mouth. These are expelled when a person with the infection coughs, sneezes, or speaks.
The current WHO guideline states that the coronavirus is transmitted mainly between people through these respiratory droplets and contact. The health agency has said that this is why it is important to stay at least a meter away from others and wash your hands regularly or clean yourself with an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
However, the group of scientists will present evidence that the smaller particles, which can travel much greater distances, can also infect people.
A WHO spokesperson told CNBC on Monday that it was aware of the reported open letter and that technical experts from the organization were reviewing its contents. The report is “likely” to be covered at the group’s regular press conference on Monday, the spokesperson added.
The WHO has previously said it continually evaluates “ongoing research into the ways in which Covid-19 spreads and will continue to share updated results.”
Air transmission
The letter’s authors argue that the virus is airborne and can infect people when inhaled, The New York Times reported, either being carried high by large drops after a sneeze or by much smaller drops that could slip. throughout the room.
They claim that their emerging evidence indicates that airborne transmission may be more important than WHO has recognized to date.
Airborne transmission is different from droplet transmission, says the WHO in a scientific report on its website. She notes that airborne transmission refers to the presence of extremely small particles that can remain in the air for long periods of time and be transmitted to others over distances greater than one meter.
To date, nearly 11.5 million people worldwide have contracted Covid-19, with 534,460 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
The United States has recorded the highest number of Covid-19 infections and deaths, by far, with almost 2.9 million cases and 129,947 deaths reported.
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