Two weeks after retracting its updated guidance that coronavirus often spreads through air, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention came back acknowledging the potential for airborne transmission in the spread of coronavirus.
CDC first acknowledged the virus airborne theory on September 18. But three days later, the health agency said the update was posted in error, and removed the mention of airborne transmission from the official website.
In its latest update published on Monday, CDC included information about how Covid-19 spreads through air.
In guidance under the title 'How COVID-19 Spreads', CDC says coronavirus can sometimes be spread by airborne transmission.
"Some infections can be spread by exposure to virus in small droplets and particles that can linger in the air for minutes to hours".
CDC claimed there is evidence that under certain conditions, these viruses may be able to infect people who are further than 6 feet away from the person who is infected or after that person has left the space.
However, the agency says available data indicate that it is much more common for the virus to spread through close contact with an infected person than through airborne transmission.
These updates were added to conditions already published on the CDC page, which says that the disease mainly spreads between people who are in close contact with one another (within about 6 feet)", and through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs, sneezes, sings, talks, or breathes.
In a letter published in the journal Science on the same day CDC issued its added guideline, academics said, "One is far more likely to inhale aerosols than be sprayed by a droplet, and so the balance of attention must be shifted to protecting against airborne transmission."
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