UK Scientists Testing Airborne COVID-19 Transmission

UK scientists at the University of Bristol may be weeks away from finding out how long the SARS-Cov-2 coronavirus can survive in the aerosol particles people exhale, reported The Guardian on September 25, 2020. 

Prof. Jonathan Reid, who is leading the Bristol team, told The Guardian: “We know that when bacteria or viruses become airborne in respiratory droplets they very quickly dry down and can lose viability, so that’s an important step to understand when assessing the role of airborne transmission in COVID-19.”

Prof Denis Doorly, at Imperial College London, who is not involved in the research, stated: “There is now huge interest in what it could take to mitigate the risk of infection in enclosed spaces, in terms of enhanced natural ventilation, or air-scrubbing systems, or UV-C lighting – but this all depends on knowing how much viable virus remains suspended in the air."