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New study finds virus travels up to 4 meters, twice what the current distance guidelines say.

By on April 11, 2020

In the midst of the fear and anxiety surrounding the mysterious killer virus, each day seems to bring news that’s different from the day before.

A new study of air samples from hospital wards with COVID-19 patients shows the virus can actually travel up to a 13-feet or 4-meter distance. This is twice the current distancing guideline people should keep between themselves.  So don’t be surprised if further measures of social distancing are rolled out as new discoveries emerge.

The preliminary results of the investigation published Friday in Emerging Infectious Diseases, a journal of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), add to a growing debate on how the disease is transmitted.

The Chinese scientists caution that the small quantities of virus they found at this distance are not necessarily infectious.

credit: CGTN Huoshenshan hospital

The test was conducted on surface and air samples from an intensive care unit and a general COVID-19 ward at Huoshenshan Hospital in Wuhan by researchers led by a team at the Academy of Military Medical Sciences in Beijing.  A total of 24 patients was housed between February 19 and March 2.

Most of the heavy concentration of virus was found on the floors of the wards “perhaps because of gravity and air flow causing most virus droplets to float to the ground.”

High levels of the virus were also found on frequently touched surfaces like computer mouse, trash cans, bed rails and door knobs.

The team wrote: “Furthermore, half of the samples from the soles of the ICU medical staff shoes tested positive. Therefore, the soles of medical staff shoes might function as carriers.”

 

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