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Amid concerns that COVID-19 may be spread through aerosols, scientists have shown that tiny respiratory droplets produced when people talk can linger in the air for minutes. The results, published in PNAS yesterday (May 13), did not examine the transmission of viruses in spray from speech, but bolsters the idea that talking could present a risk for exposure to the novel coronavirus.
“This study builds on earlier research by the same team showing that speaking may factor into transmission of SARS-CoV-2,” a spokesperson for the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, where most of the study’s authors are based, tells USA Today.
The authors used laser light sheets to capture on video the movement of small droplets emitted from a person’s mouth as the speaker repeated the phrase “stay healthy” for 25 seconds. They calculated that the half-life of these particles in the ...
