Thread by @DRTomlinsonEP

Tue 7 Sept 2021, 10:57

WHO described SARS2 as a cough & sneeze droplet-transmitted virus

Prevention: 'wash your hands, don't touch your face'

At 12:37: #COVIDisAirborne!
'[emitted] small liquid particles...droplets to smaller aerosols'

Prevention: 'wear a mask'

Did you know?

WHO anti-airborne starting point:

'The COVID-19 virus spreads primarily through droplets of saliva or discharge from the nose when an infected person coughs or sneezes'

WHO anti-airborne: prevention

🤦‍♂️Wash your hands regularly with soap & water, or clean them with alcohol-based hand rub.
🤔Maintain at least 1m distance between you & people coughing or sneezing [Ed: what about breath-exhaled aerosols; & why 1m?!].
🤦‍♂️Avoid touching your face.

7 Sept 2021, 12:37

WHO finally accepts that #COVIDisAirborne:

'The virus can spread from an infected person’s mouth or nose in small liquid particles when they cough, sneeze, speak, sing or breathe. These particles range from larger respiratory droplets to smaller aerosols.'

#COVIDisAirborne: prevention

✅Get vaccinated
Stay at least 1m apart from others
Wear a properly fitted mask when physical distancing is not possible or when in poorly ventilated settings.
✅Choose open, well-ventilated spaces over closed ones. Open a window if indoors.

Comment 🙏: there's nothing magical about physical distancing alone.

If you're indoors & the air quality is poor (inadequate fresh air supply, recirculation mechanical ventilation w/o HEPA filtration), transmission risk can be very high when sharing unfiltered, infectious air...

Like this: Jan 2020

2 buses, 1 pre-symptomatic case on bus 2: ALL secondary cases on bus 2

'in closed environments with air recirculation, SARS-CoV-2 is a highly transmissible pathogen.'

[No mask wearing: no known SARS2 cases in Ningbo city, China at the time]

'cases C5 & C10 seated in the last row were MORE THAN 5m from the index patient on the bus & neither reported direct contact nor sharing of spaces with the index patients during the event, YET THEY BOTH DEVELOPED INFECTION'

So please wear a mask indoors, regardless of distance.

#COVIDisAirborne
sapue.com.ar/wp-content/upl…

As @WHO teams have come so far on this, hopefully it won't be long before they finally accept universally applicable physical laws underlying aerosol behaviour & change this element of their guidance on SARS2 prevention, for the benefit of all.
@mvankerkhove @kprather88 @DFisman