COVID-19: Even in isolation you can infect others at home. Here's why
Premium- Airborne transmission in crowded living conditions may be one reason for higher rates of COVID-19 infection among people with lower incomes.
Even after self-isolating himself, a COVID-positive patient can easily infect other family members, a recent study has revealed. Tiny airborne particles containing RNA from coronavirus can spread from patient (in isolation) to others who are staying in another room, the study has detected, and further said, “It could be one of the reasons for higher rates of COVID-19 infection among people with lower incomes."
The research has been published in the 'Annals of the American Thoracic Society Journal'.
How the risk of infecting others can be reduced?
Apart from maintaining basic hygiene, masking up at all times is required when someone at home has contracted COVID.
"Risk of infection from larger respiratory droplets that rapidly settle onto surfaces, typically within two meters of the source, can be reduced by hand-washing, social distancing, and face masks, but the tiny respiratory particles that stay suspended in the air for hours, require air filtration, ventilation or better masks for prevention," said lead author Howard Kipen, a professor at Rutgers School of Public Health and Director of Clinical Research and Occupational Medicine at the Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute.
The researchers found positive air samples for at least one of three virus genes in six of the 11 isolation rooms and in six of the nine common rooms. Seven of these nine homes reported no other cases in the home.
How does coronavirus spread inside the home?
To better understand how the virus spreads in the home, participants were asked to record their time in the isolation room and the common room.
"We discovered that many did not strictly adhere to self-isolation, with eight of the 11 infected study participants reporting spending from a few hours to 14 hours in the common room and five of 11 participants reporting spending time in other areas of the home," Kipen said.
Additionally, in four of the homes, other residents were also positive or had symptoms.
"Our indoor air sampling data clearly demonstrated that measurable airborne SARS-CoV-2 RNA was present in the air in the homes of most infected people, not only in the isolation room but, importantly, elsewhere in the home," Kipen said.
"The findings show that tiny airborne particles containing SARS-CoV-2 RNA can be found in homes of infected individuals beyond the room where they are supposedly self-isolating," Kipen added.
(With inputs from agencies)
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