Iran Press/Europe: Since the start of the coronavirus epidemic, medical experts have said the virus particles do not remain in the air for a long time after being exhaled, an assurance that guided directives on social distancing and other measures.
But now a group of scientists is calling on the World Health Organization to acknowledge that the virus may remain airborne for much longer than previously believed.
More than 200 scientists from 32 countries are backing a letter published this week in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases. In the journal, two scientists from Australia and the US wrote that studies have shown "beyond any reasonable doubt that viruses are released during exhalation, talking and coughing in microdroplets small enough to remain aloft in the air. That means people in certain indoor conditions could be at greater risk of being infected than was previously thought.
Meanwhile, the global death toll is 546,765 with 11,956,877 confirmed cases, according to the World Health Organization.
COVID-19 was first detected in China's Wuhan in late December and has since spread across the world.
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