COVID-19 Outbreak (Update: More than 2.9M cases and 132,313 deaths in US) (7 Viewers)

[DaveXA]

Was thinking the same. Good thing it's not airborne like the wildly speculative reports came out last week.

Is it conclusive that it's not airborne? How do we know this? If it's not airborne, then it seems to me that wearing masks all the time is pointless. I haven't bought or worn any masks myself.

 

[superchuck500]

Was thinking the same. Good thing it's not airborne like the wildly speculative reports came out last week.

The report was that it can have aerosol transmission (where the virus binds with respiratory droplets and can then transmit over the air via a sneeze, for example).The report has been disputed.

But it certainly transmits more easily than MERS and Ebola, which require close bodily fluid contact. I don’t think aerosol transmission can be ruled out based on anecdote.

 

[Doug B]

Is it conclusive that it's not airborne? How do we know this? If it's not airborne, then it seems to me that wearing masks all the time is pointless. I haven't bought or worn any masks myself.

Wearing masks prevents a mildy sick person from spreading droplets from their coughs and sneezes. Otherwise, you're right about the masks.

I doubt that airborne infection is 100% ruled out yet ... but I expect that this coronavirus has a lot in common with other coronaviruses and does not spread "on the wind", so to speak. Looking for online info.

 

[IntenseSaint]

Is it conclusive that it's not airborne? How do we know this? If it's not airborne, then it seems to me that wearing masks all the time is pointless. I haven't bought or worn any masks myself.

There is a difference between particles floating in the air after a sneeze or cough and being airborne. Masks are still quite necessary because viral transmission can occur 3-6 feet from another who might cough or sneeze. If it was airborne the the virus could travel much further distances through the air.

 

[Doug B]

Facts Vs. Fears: Five Things To Help Weigh Your Coronavirus Risk

How is the virus spreading? Do you need to worry only about people sneezing next to you?

The rapid spread of the coronavirus suggests it is transmitted person-to-person, much like influenza: An infected person coughs out moist droplets containing the virus and another person breathes them in, said Schaffner.

Because the moist droplets fall to the ground within 3 to 6 feet, patients are most likely to infect people with whom they are in close contact. These droplets can also land on surfaces, such as door handles, and infect other people who touch the contaminated surface, then touch their mouth or eyes.

It’s much less common for viruses to spread through so-called airborne transmission, in which viruses float in the air for a long time, like measles or chickenpox, said Hotez.

...

Anecdotal reports that patients without symptoms can spread COVID-19 have been widely publicized. But scientists have not confirmed such transmissions, said Dr. Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security in Baltimore. Other coronaviruses, such as SARS and Middle East respiratory syndrome, have not been shown to spread in patients without symptoms.

A report from Germany, published this year in the New England Journal of Medicine, pointing to a case in which someone was infected by an asymptomatic person “has been shown to be inaccurate” because the primary patient “did have symptoms at the time she spread the virus,” he said. She had taken medication to reduce her fever.

 

[IntenseSaint]

Remember when reports were going around that it could spread by getting in your eyes? For a while you had people wearing swimming goggles.

 

[superchuck500]

There is a difference between particles floating in the air after a sneeze or cough and being airborne. Masks are still quite necessary because viral transmission can occur 3-6 feet from another who might cough or sneeze. If it was airborne the the virus could travel much further distances through the air.

True but it depends on the size of the droplet. Very small aerosols can be carried quite a distance, depending on the environment.

 

[superchuck500]

The director of Wuhan’s Wuchang Hospital has been killed by the virus.

 

[IntenseSaint]

True but it depends on the size of the droplet. Very small aerosols can be carried quite a distance, depending on the environment.

Covid isn't aerosolized. That was speculation last week and has not had any kind of follow up on it.

 

[DaveXA]

The director of Wuhan’s Wuchang Hospital has been killed by the virus.

Well, it seems some healthy people are dying from it. That's a bit unnerving.

 

[IntenseSaint]

Well, it seems some healthy people are dying from it. That's a bit unnerving.

Just because one is a doctor does not mean they are healthy. I have known many doctors who have terrible personal health, and habits like smoking and drinking.

 

[DaveXA]

Just because one is a doctor does not mean they are healthy. I have known many doctors who have terrible personal health, and habits like smoking and drinking.

I get that. I don't know how healthy or not they are, but several contracting and dying from it is a bit surprising. You'd think they would know how to take steps to prevent getting the virus. More questions than answers It seems.

 

[superchuck500]

Covid isn't aerosolized. That was speculation last week and has not had any kind of follow up on it.

I just don’t see how you can rule it out. There is evidence that SARS and MERS aerosolize and Covid transmits much more easily than those two. At least it has in China and on a cruise ship.

Recognition of aerosol transmission of infectious agents: a commentary - BMC Infectious Diseases

Although short-range large-droplet transmission is possible for most respiratory infectious agents, deciding on whether the same agent is also airborne has a potentially huge impact on the types (and costs) of infection control interventions that are required.The concept and definition of...

bmcinfectdis.biomedcentral.com

 

[DaveXA]

I just don’t see how you can rule it out. There is evidence that SARS and MERS aerosolize and Covid transmits much more easily than those two. At least it has in China and on a cruise ship.

Recognition of aerosol transmission of infectious agents: a commentary - BMC Infectious Diseases

Although short-range large-droplet transmission is possible for most respiratory infectious agents, deciding on whether the same agent is also airborne has a potentially huge impact on the types (and costs) of infection control interventions that are required.The concept and definition of...

bmcinfectdis.biomedcentral.com

Yeah, the ease of transmission and number of people testing positive on the cruise ship is what concerns me the most. Out of over 3k people on the ship, over 400 have tested positive. I am surprised at how many they're finding asymptomatic though. Could they be false positives? I recall there was some questions about the reliability of the testing methods used.

Lots of questions that need answers.

 

[bonnjer]

Is it conclusive that it's not airborne? How do we know this? If it's not airborne, then it seems to me that wearing masks all the time is pointless. I haven't bought or worn any masks myself.

I would think, at this point, that wearing a mask would be more effective at keeping someone from making contact with their nose and mouth without thinking about it.