Is COVID-19 airborne?

July 07, 2020 13:31

On July 6, an open letter written by 239 global scientists to the World Health Organisation startled the world. It stated that 'there is a real risk that the coronavirus can be airborne, meaning it can spread through microscopic particles that linger in the air.'

The claim in the letter is a significant departure from the WHO's belief so far that COVID-19 is spread primarily by large respiratory droplets when an infected person coughs or sneezes.

The letter has created fissures in the scientific community, with many questioning WHO'S efficiency in handling the pandemic, while others assert that the evidence stated in the letter is unconvincing.

The letter has further aggravated the panic among a public already battered by fears about how and where the coronavirus can strike.

Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com spoke to Dr Pradip Awate, Maharashtra's disease surveillance officer, who been tracking the pandemic in Mumbai and Maharashtra, the nation's worst affected city and state, to find out what he thinks about this new theory that the virus could be airborne and if he has encountered any evidence of this in his long battle against COVID-19. Read the interview here

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