British scientists confirm main route of infection is through the air

The report released this Thursday says people are much more likely to be infected in a room with windows that cannot be opened or without a ventilation system, and advises to be outdoors as much as possible.

A new study published this Thursday in the British Medical Association magazine comes back to focus on the transmission of the coronavirus through the “aerosols” we expel when we speak and warns that efforts to combat it must be focused on ventilating environments and hold what they call the “blast-garlic distance”.

“When you talk to a friend or share the same tune you hear your friend speak with, we call it the garlic breath distance. So if you can smell your friend’s lunch, you inhale some of that. air, as well as virus which is inhaled from it “, graphic virologist Julian Tang, consultant at the Royal Leicester Infirmary and lead author of a new study published Thursday in the journal British Medical Association (BMJ).

The study once again emphasizes the transmission of the coronavirus through the aerosols we breathe out when we speak and recommends good quality spaces and masks rather than focusing on the frenzy of cleaning things.“

“The way this virus is transmitted is really from a distance when you interact with another person in a conversation less than a meter away,” Tang said in an interview with UK television station Sky News. .

Garlic, I add that “Improving indoor ventilation and air quality in the environment, especially in healthcare, work and education environments, will help us all be safe, now and in the future. “.

When asked if focusing on hand washing and sanitizing surfaces was wrong, he said focusing on it was wrong.

In this sense, he argued that “The message hands, face, distance” should really be “distance, distance, hands”Said the scientist who urged governments to focus their efforts in this regard, as an example he said people should apply the “garlic breath” test to measure whether someone is too close and could transmit the virus.

He also ensured that covering the face was fine and social distancing was also, but the air inside the environments needs to be improved and He suggested opening the windows for ventilation.

“If you think about it, if you burn your toast in the kitchen, if you open the windows and the back doors, it comes off very quickly,” the scientist gave the example, adding that this was a very important point. which was pretty neglected.

“Improving indoor ventilation and improving air quality in the environment will help us all be safe, now and in the future,” Tang says.

Segn Tang, ventilation has always been part of the guidelines and protocols that were developed at the start of the pandemic on risk assessment and which has largely inspired government policy and has long been “common practice” in hospitals.

In the article published this Thursday by the BMJ, also written by experts from the University of Leicester, the University of Hong Kong, Edinburgh Napier and Virginia Tech in the United States, they explained that “The smallest airborne particles can stay in the air for hours and underlined the importance of transmission of the virus by aerosols.

Aerosols are particles suspended in the air and when you breathe, speak, sing, cough or sneeze, the respiratory droplets emitted mix with the ambient air and form an aerosol.“

“People are much more likely to be infected in a room with windows that cannot be opened or without any ventilation system,” they pointed out.

For experts, it is important to know that while a person can inhale particles of any size, they are inhaling aerosols and although this can happen over a long distance, you are more likely to be with someone.

“Aerosols between two people are much more concentrated at close range, such as when they are close to someone who smokes. People infected with coronavirus produce many small respiratory particles filled with virus when they exhale,” says the ‘study.

According to experts, some of them will be inhaled almost immediately by people at a typical “close range” talking distance of less than one meter, while the rest will disperse over longer distances to be inhaled by others more than two meters away.

They also recommended that for ensure the replacement or cleaning of the air, in addition to opening the windows, it is convenient to install or improve ventilation and air conditioning systems.

They also emphasized the use of good quality masks or masks for effective protection against inhaled aerosols.

“Masks usually prevent large drops from falling on covered areas of the face.But tiny particles of air can find their way through any space. For that you have to use good quality chin straps with high filtration efficiency and a good fit, ”they warned.

According to experts, It is very possible that the coronavirus will become something seasonal and we will have to live with it like we do with the flu.

“Safer indoor environments are needed, not only to protect unvaccinated people and those who fail vaccines, but also to deter vaccine-resistant variants or new threats that may emerge at any time,” they added.