On Monday, The Centers For Disease Control and Prevention acknowledged that people can sometimes be infected with the coronavirus through airborne transmission if they have improper ventilation.
The update to the agency’s web page explains how the virus spreads and plays a role in the pandemic. The CDC acknowledges that under certain conditions even if you’re more than six feet apart you can still become infected by tiny droplets and particles that float in the air.
The update comes after an embarrassing incident last month when the agency removed a draft that was posted in error that had reportedly not been properly reviewed. The draft included wording in reference to aerosols- tiny droplets that can stay in the air and travel a significant distance. Officials say the draft was removed because they feared the wording could be misinterpreted to suggest that airborne transmission is the way the virus spreads, which is not the case.
The CDC says that the main causes of the viral spread are the large respiratory droplets that are released when someone coughs, sneezes, sings, talks, or breathes.
“There is evidence that under certain conditions, people with COVID-19 seem to have infected others who were more than six feet away,” the website reads. “These transmissions occurred within enclosed spaces that had inadequate ventilation. Sometimes the infected person was breathing heavily, for example, while singing or exercising.”
“Under these circumstances, scientists believe that the amount of infectious smaller droplets and particles produced by the people with COVID-19 became concentrated enough to spread the virus to other people. The people who were infected were in the same space during the same time or shortly after the person with COVID-19 had left,” the website continues.
The CDC said in a statement issued immediately after the Webpage was updated, that it “continues to believe, based on current science, that people are more likely to become infected the longer and closer they are to a person with COVID-19.”
“Today’s update acknowledges the existence of some published reports showing limited, uncommon circumstances where people with COVID-19 infected others who were more than 6 feet away or shortly after the COVID-19-positive person left an area,” the agency added.
The transmission took place in “poorly ventilated and enclosed spaces that often involved activities that caused heavier breathing, like singing or exercise. Such environments and activities may contribute to the buildup of virus-carrying particles,” the CDC said.
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