COVID-19 can spread by airborne transmission: CDC

COVID-19 can spread by airborne transmission: CDC

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in an updated guidance on Monday said COVID-19 can spread through airborne transmission, a month after it took down a similar warning.

This report produce by Yahaira Jacquez.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its guidance again on how coronavirus can be transmitted, acknowledging on Monday that the virus can sometimes spread through airborne particles 'that can linger in the air for minutes' or even hours.

The update comes after the agency sparked confusion last month when it published guidance warning the virus can spread through the air... and then abruptly removed it, saying it was posted in error.

The new guidance acknowledges reports that showed circumstances where people with COVID-19 infected others who were more than 6 feet away, according to the agency.

In these instances, the CDC said the transmission occurred in poorly ventilated and enclosed areas that often involved activities that caused heavier breathing, such as singing or exercise.

Despite its acknowledgement of airborne transmission, the agency said it is “much more common” for the virus to spread through close contact.

Though also on Monday, a group of U.S. scientists warned in an unrelated open letter published in medical journal Science that aerosols lingering in the air could be a major source of COVID-19 transmission.