COVID-19 droplets can remain in the air for hours, says CDC

*Update comes after the agency mistakenly posted a ‘draft version’ of the guidance

Alexander Davis | ConsumerConnect

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has changed its Web site to state that COVID-19 can be spread by airborne transmission.

ConsumerConnect gathered that the latest update comes two weeks after the agency mistakenly published a “draft version of proposed changes” to the section of its website that detailed how COVID-19 is spread.

The CDC recently changed its Web site to say that the virus spreads through airborne particles that can remain in the air and travel distances beyond six feet.

However, a few days later, the disease control and regulatory agency stated that the guidance was “posted in error” at the end of September 2020.

It said at the time that “CDC is currently updating its recommendations regarding airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19).

“Once this process has been completed, the update language will be posted.”

Nevertheless, the CDC Monday, October 5, 2020, officially acknowledged that COVID-19 could be spread via droplets that can remain in the air for hours.

“Some infections can be spread by exposure to the virus in small droplets and particles that can linger in the air for minutes to hours.

“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.”

“This kind of spread is referred to as airborne transmission and is an important way that infections like tuberculosis, measles, and chicken pox are spread.”

Stressing that it is commonly spread through close contact, the CDC said the main way that the virus spreads is still through close contact with an infected individual.

However, COVID-19 has been found to also be spread through the air, potentially infecting people who are more than six feet away in cases where people are in a confined space without proper ventilation.

The CDC said the virus can be spread in cases where people are breathing heavily or singing in an enclosed space.

“People who are infected but do not show symptoms can also spread the virus to others.

“We are still learning about how the virus spreads and the severity of illness it causes.”

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