The novel coronavirus can spread through the air to people who are more than 6 feet away from an infectious person, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said.
The top US public health agency said Monday that the coronavirus can spread more than 6 feet through the air, especially in poorly ventilated and enclosed spaces.
According to a report by Reuters, CDC said that there was evidence that people with COVID-19 possibly infected others who were more than 6 feet away, within enclosed spaces with poor ventilation. The top US public health agency said that scientists believe the amount of infectious smaller droplet and particles, or aerosols, produced by the people with COVID-19 become concentrated enough to spread the virus.
“Today’s update acknowledges the existence of some published reports showing limited, uncommon circumstances where people with COVID-19 infected others who were more than 6 feet away or shortly after the COVID-19-positive person left an area,” CDC said in a news release.
CDC further said that people can protect themselves from the virus that causes COVID-19 by staying at least 6 feet away from others, wearing a mask that covers their nose and mouth, washing their hands frequently, cleaning touched surfaces often and staying home when sick.
Meanwhile, the overall number of global coronavirus cases has topped 35.3 million, while the deaths have increased to more than 1,042,600, according to the Johns Hopkins University.
As of Tuesday, the total number of cases stood at 35,396,981 and the fatalities rose to 1,042,679, the University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed in its latest update.
The US is the worst-hit country with the world’s highest number of cases and deaths at 7,455,184 and 210,155, respectively, according to the CSSE. India comes in second place in terms of cases at 66,85,082, while the country’s death toll soared to 1,03,569.
The other top 15 countries with the maximum amount of cases are Brazil (4,915,289), Russia (1,219,796), Colombia (862,158), Peru (828,169), Spain (813,412), Argentina (809,728), Mexico (789,780), South Africa (682,215), France (664,289), the UK (518,222), Iran (475,674), Chile (471,746), Iraq (382,949), Bangladesh (370,132), and Saudi Arabia (336,766), the CSSE figures showed.
