HOW CAN YOU PROTECT YOURSELF FROM AIRBORNE CORONAVIRUS? WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION ISSUES GUIDELINES!

The World Health Organization acknowledged the report of airborne transmission of COVID19 in an updated scientific brief on Thursday (July 9). The health agency also emphasized that there is a need to gather more evidence related to the subject. The UN Health agency released new guidelines on Thursday and suggested that there is a possibility of aerosol transmission happening in crowded indoor places such as restaurants and fitness centres. 

The brief maintained that "the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 spreads through contact with contaminated surfaces or close contact with infected people who spread the virus through saliva, respiratory secretions or droplets released when an infected person coughs, sneezes, speaks or sings."

WHO also confirmed that the virus might spread via people who do not have any of the coronavirus symptoms: “Infected people can transmit the virus both when they have symptoms and when they don’t have symptoms.”

Reportedly, while experts were waiting for WHO to take this move, they expected the guidelines to be more extensive. 

The report could be seen as a response to the open letter written by more than 200 scientists from 32 nations urging the global body to update its guidelines on how the respiratory disease spreads to aerosol transmission. 

The report comes in the wake of an open letter written by over 200 scientists urging the global body to update its guidelines on how the respiratory disease spreads to include aerosol transmission.

"This is a move in the right direction, albeit a small one. It is becoming clear that the pandemic is driven by super-spreading events, and that the best explanation for many of those events is aerosol transmission," said Jose Jimenez, a chemist at the University of Colorado who signed the letter, was quoted by Reuters in its report.

The new WHO guidelines advices people to avoid crowds and ensure that the buildings have good ventilation, apart from practicing social distancing and encourage wearing masks.