STATNEWS: Simply speaking could transmit coronavirus, new study suggests

[SheltieLover]

[link:https://www.statnews.com/2020/04/15/simply-speaking-could-transmit-coronavirus-new-study-suggests/|

Speaking calmly and at a normal volume produces liquid droplets so small they can remain suspended in the air long enough to enter the airways of other people, potentially exposing them to viruses including the one that causes Covid-19, according to a new study led by scientists at the National Institutes of Health.

“Aerosols from infected persons may therefore pose an inhalation threat even at considerable distances and in enclosed spaces, particularly if there is poor ventilation,” Harvard University biologist Matthew Meselson wrote in a commentary accompanying the paper, which used a laser to visualize airborne droplets created when volunteers uttered the words “stay healthy.”

The study was published on Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The question of whether the coronavirus can be “aerosolized” has stirred controversy for weeks, with a study last month reporting that the virus may be able to stay suspended in air under special circumstances, such as when infected people undergo intubation and other procedures. But the new study suggests that the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus can be transmitted from one person to another simply by speaking.

Much more at link.

[Freddie]

1. This seems correct

It is spread by being near people breathing. That’s why we’re seeing it in group settings like nursing homes and prisons, and it spreads from people congregating - churches, subways, beaches, protests (wait for the spike in cases in Michigan). Theory is the reason it was so bad in one town in Italy is that virtually the entire town went to a playoff soccer match in Feb.

On edit: this is why the idea of that moron Dr Oz re-opening schools would be a complete disaster. All those kids together getting non-symptomatic infections and taking it home to their parents and grandparents. This would be 100x worse if schools and colleges hadn’t closed when they did.

[JudyM]

2. Exactly. No speaking is necessary.

There was an investigation in China in Jan or Feb that traced multiple bus passengers’ contracting Covid from a passenger many rows away. He neither sneezed nor coughed, not did he speak with anyone. They found this by reviewing the entire closed circuit camera footage. Even after he and the other passengers left the bus, entering passengers on the next run became infected as well.

Wearing masks of some kind in public at this stage of the pandemic should be mandatory.

ETA: from the writeup: “Some studies have shown that the number of droplets produced by speaking is similar to the number produced by coughing.” The whole focus on staying away from people who are coughing or sneezing has vastly downplayed the true airborne risk.

[FailureToCommunicate]

3. "...suspended in the air under special circumstances "

[Talitha]

4. You can EASILY see exhaled vapor hanging in frigid winter air as we breathe or speak.

So why did it take them so long to discover that the virus could float out of us without being forcibly ejected by a cough or sneeze? If you can smell someone's breath, you're inhaling their vapor.

[SheltieLover]

7. It is the assumption I have been operating under

But scientists need to prove things through testing. Best to stay ahead of the curve by using common sense, as you have stated. But far too many people seem unwilling or unable to connect the proverbial dots.

[lagomorph777]

5. Best example is Trump. His talking has caused thousands of COVID-19 deaths.

[SheltieLover]

6. Perfect example!