Dr Maria Van Kerkhove

In a media briefing held on July 7, the World Health Organization (WHO) acknowledged the possibility of airborne transmission of COVID-19. WHOs announcement comes after 239 scientists from 32 countries through an open letter in claimed coronavirus can spread through air and asked the health body to revise its recommendations concerning the pandemic.

Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, technical lead on the COVID-19 pandemic at WHO, said, We have been talking about the possibility of airborne and aerosol transmission as one of the modes of transmission of COVID-19. WHO had previously claimed that coronavirus primarily spreads through small droplets expelled from nose and mouth of an infected person that quickly sink in to the ground.

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Dr Kerkhove said that WHO would publish a scientific brief summarising the state of knowledge on modes of transmission of the virus in the coming days. A comprehensive package of interventions is required to be able to stop transmission, she said.

Benedetta Allegranzi, WHOs technical lead for infection prevention and control, said during the briefing that there is evidence emerging of airborne transmission of coronavirus but that it was not definitive. The possibility of airborne transmission in public settings – especially in very specific conditions, crowded, closed, poorly ventilated settings cannot be ruled out. However, the evidence needs to be gathered and interpreted, she added.