Fauci made the remarks after the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) sent a letter to the White House on April 1 that summarized the recent research on the spread of coronavirus.
Washington| The new coronavirus can be spread through normal breathing or speaking, said a top US scientist on Friday as the government was self-assured to recommend the use of the masks for everyone.
Anthony Fauci, head of infectious diseases at the National Institutes of Health, told the Fox News, “The guidance on masks would be changed because of some recent information that the virus can actually be spread even when people just speak, as opposed to coughing and sneezing.”
Currently, the official advice to wear a mask is only for those who are sick or taking care of someone who’s sick.
Fauci made the remarks after the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) sent a letter to the White House on April 1 that summarized the recent research on the spread of coronavirus.
It also mentioned that the research is not conclusive yet adding, “the results of available studies are consistent with aerosolization of virus from normal breathing.”
Till now, the US Health agencies have said that the primary medium of infection is respiratory droplets, about one millimeter in diameter, generated by the sneezing or coughing of infected people.
These droplets quickly fall on the ground within 1 meter of distance.
But if the virus can be spread through the ultrafine mist we expel while exhaling, also known as an aerosol, it becomes very difficult to spread, which is also an argument in favor of everyone covering faces.
An NIH funded study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found out that the SARS-CoV-2 can become aerosol and remain in the air for 3 hours.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has been cautious so far on the airborne threat.
In one analysis published on March 29, it said that aerosol transmission was known to occur only when particular medical treatment required assistant breathing.
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