Coronavirus variants 'better at travelling through the air,' raising transmission risk, study finds
CTV
A new study has found that SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is evolving to get better at becoming airborne in its newer variant forms, raising concerns that loose-fitting face masks only provide 'modest control' against infection.
The study, led by the University of Maryland School of Public Health, reports that the virus has moved towards "more efficient aerosol generation." Researchers say this means that public health measures will be needed to protect those in public-facing jobs and working indoors until vaccination rates are "very high."
Those measures include improved ventilation, increased filtration, UV air sanitation and tighter-fitting masks, in addition to vaccines.
The study was published Tuesday in peer-reviewed medical journal Clinical Infectious Diseases.
Results of the new study show that people infected with the Alpha variant expelled 43 to 100 times more virus into the air when they breathed than people infected with the original strain of the virus.
