First, it's important to note that airborne can mean different things to different people, even experts.

The short answer is: likely yes, but it's complicated. 20 Questions About the Coronavirus, Answeredīecause this is a brand-new coronavirus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) acknowledges that 'we are still learning how it spreads, the severity of illness it causes, and to what extent it may spread in the United States.' So, yes, more research is needed for a definitive answer to this question, although infectious disease experts can shed some light on what they know so far about whether or not the novel coronavirus can spread through the air.'There's no real danger from that,' he noted. When you are outdoors and practicing social distancing, however, those particles get dispersed in the outside environment (like if they're blown around by the wind, for instance). He also pointed out that this is a problem mainly in enclosed spaces, like patient-care rooms. 'Some of us by talking or even breathing produce a number of these tiny bioaerosol particles, and those effectively can float around for a while,' he explained further in an interview with NPR. For example, in an update last week, Harvey Fineberg, MD, PhD, chairman of a committee with the National Academy of Sciences, said that COVID-19 (the illness associated with the new coronavirus) can spread via talking or even breathing. After all, if people without symptoms can pass it on, could this mean that any time you leave your house you might be exposed to the virus wafting through the air? Infectious disease experts still do not think that COVID-19 viral particles spread across far distances.Īs social distancing has become the new normal amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, you may have wondered whether it's still a potential risk to share space and cross paths even at a distance.Health officials recently said that new coronavirus particles can become airborne from talking or even just exhaling.Recent research suggests that contagious novel coronavirus particles can linger in the air for a few hours.Despite nationwide instructions to practice social distancing, many people still wonder whether it's possible to contract COVID-19 even when you're not near others, if the virus is airborne.

Airborn novel