Can you catch coronavirus from someone talking to you? Experts say it’s possible
Talking normally could transmit coronavirus through airborne particles, researchers say.
People who are asymptomatic but infected with coronavirus could make enough infected air particles to spread the virus, according to aerosol scientists at the University of California, Davis.
“Although it’s not yet known how important this is to the spread of COVID-19, it underscores the need for strict social distancing measures — and for virologists, epidemiologists and engineers who study aerosols and droplets to work together on this and other respiratory diseases,” a UC Davis news release said.
Ordinary speech makes a significant amount of particles small enough to travel through the air called aerosols. Those particles are too small for people to see with their naked eyes, but they can carry viruses like the flu or coronavirus, according to the news release.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said that coronavirus is mainly spread person-to-person from close contact or “respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs, sneezes or talks.”
“COVID-19 is thought to spread mainly through close contact from person-to-person in respiratory droplets from someone who is infected,” the CDC said. “People who are infected often have symptoms of illness. Some people without symptoms may be able to spread virus.”
Speaking louder can also create more particles, according to UC Davis scientists. Additionally, some people can be “superemitters” and give off up to 10 times more particles than others.
“Calculating just how easily a virus like SARS-CoV-2 spreads through droplets requires expertise from different fields,” the news release said. “From virology, researchers need to know how many viruses are in lung fluids, how easily they form into droplets and how many viruses are needed to start an infection. Aerosol scientists can study how far droplets travel once expelled, how they are affected by air motion in a room and how fast they settle out due to gravity.”
To help slow the spread of coronavirus, more than 30 states have initiated statewide stay-at-home orders, according to the New York Times.
Additionally, President Donald Trump extended coronavirus safety guidelines Tuesday until April 30, according to McClatchy News. Those guidelines include social distancing, avoiding travel, limiting gatherings to 10 people and staying away from nursing homes, McClatchy News reported.
This story was originally published April 2, 2020 at 5:44 PM with the headline "Can you catch coronavirus from someone talking to you? Experts say it’s possible."