This archive report was first published on 8 July 2020.
On July 8, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) acknowledged emerging evidence of airborne transmission of the coronavirus, a development that follows a letter signed by 239 scientists urging the agency to be more open about the possibility of catching the virus from airborne droplets.
Dr. Benedetta Alleganzi, WHO Technical Lead for Infection Prevention and Control, emphasized the need for the agency to be open to emerging evidence and understand its implications regarding the modes of transmission and precautions to be taken.
According to Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, an infectious disease epidemiologist with WHO's Health Emergencies Program, many of the letter's signatories are engineers, which adds to growing knowledge about the importance of ventilation.
WHO is working on a scientific brief summarizing the current knowledge around transmission of the deadly virus, which is expected to be available in the coming weeks.
Dr. Alleganzi emphasized that more research is still needed on Covid-19 transmission, and the possibility of airborne transmission in public settings, especially in crowded, closed, and poorly ventilated settings, cannot be ruled out.
