Lemme correct you a bit here. Coronavirus DOES NOT remain in air for a few hours. It can SURVIVE in air for few hours. There is a big difference between two. The droplet size in which it spreads is simply too big to remain suspended. Mostly, those droplets settle down on the ground. This is the reason that even in hospital wards where corona patients are kept, the air does not exactly get "infested".
Now, if you are in front of a Peaceful Patient who wants to sneeze in your face or cough in your face or spit in your face, then sure... Corona is airborne because the droplets travels in air.. So conclusion? Put the Peaceful Patients in a vacuum container.
You may be able to spread coronavirus just by breathing, new report finds
I was wondering , why not airlift Corona patients out of Mumbai to lift the lockdown in Mumbai
All corona patients across India should be sent to an island in Lakshadweep quarantine them and treat them fully with world class facility and then release them...
And all mental Tablighi jamaat corona patients should be sent to cellular Jail in Andamans and let them die there without any cure...
This should allow to lift lock down and resume normal life and economic activities immediately.....
Lemme first point out the obvious thing here first, this "report" was NOT a study. Not even close. It was an opinion of NAS about the question : "CAN there be a POSSIBILITY that SARS-CoV-2virus could be spread by conversation?"
So their opinion is this and I quote them :
Its important to understand the difference between "possibility" and "being airborne". Can virus spread via conversation, "possible but unknown till now". Is it airborne? No, not from the studies done till now.
Possibility is derived from the fact that
1. Past known viruses --not covid one-- have spread via air.
2. While collecting air sample from isolation wards, viral RNA were found.
Notice that all the studies they refer to talk about viral RNA and not a viable virus. The earlier study that I talked about, actually talks of "Viable Virus".
Infact, viral RNA was found in some areas of Diamond Princess many weeks after people were moved from there. Viral RNA survives much longer, even though it may not infect you because infection mechanism have gone. Hell, viral RNA was even found in gutter / waste treatment plants.
Now what does this finally mean?
It means :
1. Scientists should investigate IF such a route as infecting via conversation and breathing is INDEED happening and is it a VIABLE route. This is a policy decision. It means they will spend money in funding such research.
2. If they fear, may be they may want to increase safety measure around patients till we know better.
3. Policy makers may consider, in their plans, that if such thing is confirmed, they may need MANY MANY MANY more masks and MUCH MUCH longer lockdown. Hence they can plan those contingencies.
In all : till now, no such evidence exists. They surely want to study it.
What will I do personally? I won't run for a mask, but I will keep distance from people unless they are my family member locked with me in my house. I know that some people can sneeze even more powerfully than other and some people actually SPIT while talking. I will avoid ALL of them.
Lastly, if I see a round white cap, I will shoot first, reload and then talk after the perpetrator is neutralized.
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As of now, there's a minimal risk of this virus being airborne. However, There's still a risk. One might want to be more safe than sorry & take adequate precautions. Whether this involves use of masks, gloves & PPE aside from other precautionary measures in whatever permutation & combination one opts for, is purely subjective at this moment.
Besides such viruses are known to mutate over a period of time . Any study on both the above developments is welcome. The more the better. God forbid, if we aren't going to control this infection worldwide in it's present manifestation & it mutates into an airborne version, we'd have hell to pay. This concept can't be dismissed as mere speculation.
BTW, folks here is one simple "trick" / "way" in which folks can HELP in reducing the spread of the virus. This is my understanding and may be wrong. You know, a large number of us can actually carry the virus without symptoms. If you are in a public place, it is possible you can spread the virus further unknowingly. How? By SNEEZING hard. So how you can help? Avoid places which can make you sneeze in public. Places which have sudden influx of dust or fumes. Think kitchen exhausts. If you are in such a place, you are likely to get a cloud of droplets because someone sneezed.
What if you end up in such setting when you need to sneeze? Well, this simple trick which a doctor taught my grandfather after his catract operation might help. If you feel you are going to sneeze, press below your nose (the place where mustache grows) hard. With a horizontal finger. It will stop your sneezing action. After that run to a washroom and clean your nose with water. Just be sure there are not too many people around you.
What if you end up in such setting when you need to sneeze? Well, this simple trick which a doctor taught my grandfather after his catract operation might help. If you feel you are going to sneeze, press below your nose (the place where mustache grows) hard. With a horizontal finger. It will stop your sneezing action. After that run to a washroom and clean your nose with water. Just be sure there are not too many people around you.
If you REALLY want to be safe, you need to lock yourself in a BSL-4 facility.
Practically, if you are not visiting isolation wards, hospital toilets, cleaning hospital gowns you are NOT likely to get this disease via "airborne route". Even if your building complex has someone who is in isolation or worse, +ve with this virus, you will be fine.
Compare this to measles in which people used to get it from being in same building as infected persons. Remember, how people used to put leaves of Neem around rooms in which the infected person lives to "keep the air clean"? Or how sometimes in a flu season, if you sleep with window open you catch the cold? Those are airborne diseases.
Actually this reminds me of a question one asked from a doctor in one of "talks" he gave on HIV.
Question (a lady asked) : "Can you get HIV from saliva? I mean may be by french kissing?"
Answer by doctor : "YES you can get HIV by saliva! But you have to take 4 buckets of that stuff!"
I will like to point out that we don't know how much of "aerosol" of noval coronavirus 19 you need to breathe to become sick. Or if such an aerosol is produceable naturally in the first place.
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You could've simply suggested usage of neem leaves all around one's residence. If it prevents measles why not this virus? How many ppl have access to a BSL-4 facility? Also your suggestion is a bit rich considering there are strong reasons to believe the virus may have escaped the Wuhan Institute of Virology itself a BSL-4 facility.
Think of it. If you're infected inspite of being confined to a BSL-4 facility, you'd be the butt of everyone's jokes. At least with neem leaves you've an excuse. Would you want to be laughed out of this world or empathised for your poor man's choice of protection?
There is no evidence that Neem stops covid. I never heard of that.
No evidence of that too. Where this virus came from? Most likely from a wet market. Thats the best guess till now.
Actually, you can get infected in BSL-4, if you are not trained well. May be not Covid, but with some other nasty stuff.
Our paucity of PPE, masks, non observance of SOP coupled with a casual attitude is going to cost us big time.
After all these is over, we should create an impeachment move against China in the UN where they get removed from UNSC seat.
And then we should move to get it as representative of Asia.
And then we should move to get it as representative of Asia.
