CDC Admits the Coronavirus Is Airborne, Can Be Transmitted More Than 6 Feet Away

Slate reports that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has acknowledged that COVID-19 spreads through the air and can be inhaled by someone more than six feet away. The agency said in a document published over the weekend that it has "repeatedly documented" such cases "under certain preventable circumstances." Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University aerosol expert Linsey Marr said, "CDC has now caught up to the latest scientific evidence, and they've gotten rid of some old problematic terms and thinking about how transmission occurs." Yet some experts still say the CDC has not done enough to warn of the danger because it continues to say transmission from far away is "uncommon," which Marr called "misleading and potentially harmful" because "if you're in a poorly ventilated environment, virus is going to build up in the air, and everyone who's in that room is going to be exposed." The amended wording has important implications and shows how good ventilation in indoor spaces is critical to prevent transmission, while people can stop worrying about cleaning surfaces so much. However, the fundamentals have not changed: "Although how we understand transmission occurs has shifted, the ways to prevent infection with this virus have not," said CDC. "All prevention measures that CDC recommends remain effective for these forms of transmission."