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Scientists now claim COVID-19 is airborne, ask WHO to revise recommendations

Just Earth News | @justearthnews | 05 Jul 2020, 10:26 pm Print

Scientists now claim COVID-19 is airborne, ask WHO to revise recommendations

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Washington: A group of scientists have claimed that the potential for Covid-19 to spread through airborne transmission is being underplayed by the World Health Organization, media reports said.

In an open letter due to be published this week, 239 scientists from 32 countries call for greater acknowledgement of the role of airborne spread of Covid-19 and the need for governments to implement control measures, The Guardian reported.

In its guidance, WHO has said the virus is transmitted primarily between people through respiratory droplets and contact.

The letter due to be published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases is authored by Lidia Morawska, of the Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, and Donald Milton, of the University of Maryland, and has been endorsed by more than 200 scientists, including some who have been involved in drawing up the WHO’s advice, reports The Guardian.

They say emerging evidence, including from settings such as meat processing plants where there have been outbreaks, suggests that airborne transmission could be more important than the WHO has acknowledged, the newspaper reported.