Covid-19: WHO explains droplet transmission process

PanARMENIAN.Net - Respiratory infections like the novel coronavirus can be transmitted between people through respiratory droplets and contact routes, the World Health Organization says in a new brief.

The Organization details the droplet transmission process which it says occurs when a person is in in close contact (within 1 meter) with someone who has respiratory symptoms (e.g., coughing or sneezing) and is therefore at risk of having their mouth, nose or eyes exposed to potentially infective respiratory droplets.

Transmission may also occur through fomites – objects or materials which are likely to carry infection, such as clothes, utensils, and furniture – in the immediate environment around the infected person, WHO said.

"Therefore, transmission of the COVID-19 virus can occur by direct contact with infected people and indirect contact with surfaces in the immediate environment or with objects used on the infected person (e.g., stethoscope or thermometer)," the organization explains.

Airborne transmission is different from droplet transmission as it refers to the presence of microbes within droplet nuclei, which are generally smaller, can remain in the air for long periods of time and be transmitted to others over distances greater than 1 meter.