Virus can spread through aerosols up to 10m: Govt

Virus can spread through aerosols up to 10m: Govt

Has Greater Risk Of Transmission Of Covid In Closed Spaces

Vishwa.Mohan@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:21.05.2021

Recent studies pointing to SARS-CoV2, the virus that causes Covid-19, being transmitted through droplets and aerosols that can travel up to 10 metres in air have prompted the government to refine its advisory which calls for proper ventilation, among other things, to check the transmission of the disease.

Pitching for increased ventilation, the advisory, issued by the office of principal scientific advisor (PSA) to the government on Thursday, said droplets and aerosols become quickly concentrated and greatly increase the risk of transmission in "closed unventilated indoor" spaces.

“In closed indoor spaces, droplets, and aerosols become quickly concentrated, greatly increasing the risk of transmission to people in the area. Just as smells can be diluted by ventilation, high concentrations of the virus can be reduced by ensuring that outdoor air flows in,” tweeted PSA K VijayRaghavan, on the guidelines which enlisted steps on how to stop the transmission of Covid-19 virus.

Raghavan, a developmental biologist, said, “One infected asymptomatic person can release enough aerosols to infect many. Symptoms can take up to two weeks to appear in an infected person, during which he may continue to shed the virus to infect others. Some people may never show symptoms and yet be spreaders.”

Besides underlining the importance of masks, physical distancing and sanitation, the advisory also lays equal emphasis on ventilation, noting how infection transmission risk is much lower in outdoor areas, as virus particles get quickly dispersed. It said, “Better the ventilation, lower the potential for transmission.”

Fresh evidence and advice on airborne Covid-19 spread had come a few months ago when scientists at two laboratories of the Centre of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) -- Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) in Hyderabad and Institute of Microbial Technology in Chandigarh -- had studied the extent of transmission through air.

In closed indoor spaces aerosols become quickly concentrated, greatly increasing the risk of transmission to people in the area