World-leading air quality and health expert QUT Professor Lidia Morawska and Professor Junji Cao from Chinese Academy of Sciences in an article in Environment International published this week called on health bodies to initiate research into the airborne transmission of COVID-19 as it is happening.
“National health bodies responsible for controlling the pandemic are hampered by not acknowledging the research evidence of airborne transmission of viable virus droplets, that was conducted after the SARS 2003 outbreak,” Professor Morawska said.
“Now is the ideal time to conduct research into how viruses can travel on the airflow, because there are many similarities between the coronavirus that caused SARS and the COVID-19 coronavirus and therefore it is highly likely that COVID-19 spreads by air.
“Analysis of the initial pattern of COVID-19 spread in China reveals multiple cases of non-contact transmission, especially in areas outside Wuhan.
Read more at Queensland University of Technology
Image: Tiny virus droplets travel on airflow (Credit: QUT: Chantal Labbe)