New COVID variants: are they more airborne?

The new variants of coronavirus are more and more airborne compared to previous variants, a new study suggests.

The Study led by the University of Maryland – which was published in the medical journal Clinical Infectious Diseases – found that those infected with newer strains of the coronavirus exhaled 43 to 100 times more virus into the air.

• This suggests that COVID-19 is “evolving to become more airborne”, says the study.
• And the study found that tissue and surgical masks reduce the amount of virus particles in the air by about 50%.

Dr Don Milton, a professor of environmental health at the UMD’s School of Public Health, said the study shows that airborne transmission is increasingly common.

• “Our latest study provides further evidence of the importance of airborne transmission,” Milton said in a statement. “We know that the delta variant that is currently circulating is even more contagious than the alpha variant.”

The researchers said better ventilation and well-fitting masks – in addition to vaccination – will be needed to stop all variants which are better for traveling in the air.

• “We already knew that the virus in saliva and nasal swabs was increased in Alpha variant infections. The nose and mouth virus can be spread by large droplet sprays near an infected person. But our study shows that the virus in expired aerosols increases even more, ”said doctoral student Jianyu Lai, one of the lead authors.

There is no doubt that COVID-19 is an airborne virus because it can spread through the air. Indeed, in July 2020, a group of experts and scientists said in a letter that COVID-19 is an airborne virus. At the time, it was not well established that the virus could pass through the air. Instead, it was suggested that the coronavirus could only transmit “coughing, sneezing or speaking”, according to The Guardian.

But experts have suggested the virus may stay in the air for a short time, infecting a person who might not cough, sneeze, or talk to an infected person.

In September 2020, the Centers for Disaster Control and Prevention said people can become infected with COVID-19 through tiny droplets and particles that remain in the air for minutes or hours.

• “Some infections can be spread by exposure to the virus in the form of small droplets and particles that can linger in the air for minutes to hours. These viruses may be able to infect people who are more than 6 feet from the infected person or after that person has left space. “
• “This type of spread is called airborne transmission and is an important way for the spread of infections such as tuberculosis, measles and chickenpox.”