Table of contents:
- The scale of risk in each transmission route for COVID-19
- The most common transmission risk scale for COVID-19 occurs through close contact
- 1,024,298
- 831,330
- 28,855
- Transmission of COVID-19 due to breathing contaminated air (airborne)
- Transmission through contact with contaminated surfaces
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The SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 can be transmitted from human to human through direct or indirect transmission routes. Each transmission route for COVID-19 has a different scale of risk. What is the scale of the risk for each transmission route?
The scale of risk in each transmission route for COVID-19
The United States Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has updated its guidelines on how to transmit COVID-19. There are at least three transmission routes that allow a person to contract this virus, namely close contact, breathing air containing the virus (airborne), and touch the surface of a contaminated object and then touch the face. Even so, the CDC states that each transmission route for COVID-19 has its own risk scale.
"The CDC believes in the development of current studies, that the closer and longer a person infected with COVID-19 is near, the greater the risk of infection," wrote the CDC in a statement that updated the guide.
This update acknowledges the latest studies that show the transmission of COVID-19 can occur through contact with contaminated surfaces and through the air in certain circumstances.
However, the CDC maintains that the virus that causes COVID-19 is more commonly spread through close contact than through airborne transmission.
The most common transmission risk scale for COVID-19 occurs through close contact
The CDC places close contact as the main transmission route that causes a person to become infected with COVID-19. The virus is transmitted through respiratory fluids splashes (droplet) when an infected person talks, coughs, sneezes, laughs, and so on.
Large droplets can be seen and felt when someone is splashed, but can also come out in small, invisible particles.
According to the CDC, these droplet splashes can travel up to 6 feet or 1.8 meters. People who do not maintain physical distance or are in close proximity to people with COVID-19 are considered close contacts and have a high risk of contracting them.
However, the viruses that come out with these droplets can also mix with air and turn into aerosols and cause transmission to occur through the air or airborne.
COVID-19 Outbreak updates Country: IndonesiaData
1,024,298
Confirmed831,330
Recovered28,855
DeathDistribution MapTransmission of COVID-19 due to breathing contaminated air (airborne)
The coronavirus that causes COVID-19 is declared to be transmissible through the air. Some scientific evidence has shown this virus can survive in the air for several hours in aerosol form. Aerosols are very small particles that can float in the air, for example, like fog.
The virus from an infected person can escape into an aerosol under certain circumstances. For example, when a doctor implements a ventilator or breath aid procedure, there is an emphasis on the lungs so that a lot of the respiratory fluid will come out in the form of an aerosol.
In contrast to droplets that cannot move far away, viruses that have become aerosols can move further.
Viruses in the form of aerosols can be inhaled and cause someone who inhales them to become infected with COVID-19. This is called transmission through airborne.
Experts believe pathway transmission airborne this can occur in confined, air-conditioned, and poorly ventilated spaces. In addition, someone who breathes heavily, for example when singing or exercising, also has the potential to release droplets that can last a long time in the air.
The CDC says airborne transmission of COVID-19 occurs on a small scale. From the start, both the CDC and WHO were not firm in recognizing airborne as a transmission route for the corona virus that must be considered.
Last July, WHO acknowledged that transmission of COVID-19 could occur through airborne after being suppressed by at least 239 scientists from various countries. Scientists want WHO and health organizations to acknowledge this scientific fact in order to implement appropriate transmission prevention guidelines.
Transmission through contact with contaminated surfaces
The CDC said the scale of COVID-19 transmission by touching objects contaminated with the coronavirus is rare.
Transmission of COVID-19 can occur when you touch a surface contaminated with the coronavirus and then touch your eyes, nose or mouth without washing your hands.
The SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 is a virus that is unable to reproduce itself without staying in a living host. Even so, the virus can stay on the surface of objects for several hours before finally dying. It is at this time that transmission can occur. Therefore everyone is encouraged to be diligent in washing their hands with soap or hand sanitizer.
