A new study has found that talking can spread COVID-19 more than sneezing or coughing. One of the biggest challenges with COVID-19 is that it is a “novel” virus, which means that it is new. This means that experts had to learn about the virus as time went on, and as more information and evidence made itself clear. This means that after almost a year and a half, experts are still finding out new things that are connected to the virus. When the virus first started, it was made clear that it was a respiratory virus, and those are typically transmitted through respiratory droplets found in a cough or a sneeze.
This meant that protocol for coughing and sneezing was incredibly important. Making sure it was done against the inside of your elbow, and that hands were washed after. According to Study Finds, a new study is showing that the virus spreads more through talking than it does a cough or a sneeze.
The study was published in the Journal of Internal Medicine and it can be read in full here. Researchers are stating that the greatest danger when it comes to the spread of the virus is through chatting. Talking with your friends, family members, and your children is causing more spread than coughing and sneezing.
This evidence is showing the importance of continuing to wear masks when in confined indoor spaces with someone. It also highlights another reason why children may need to continue to wear face masks in school, where a lot of talking happens between teachers, students, and classmates. The experts are saying that if both participants in a conversation are wearing a face mask, the rate of transmission is going to be dramatically lower.
The reason they state that talking is a major contributor is due to the aerosols of the virus. The aerosols emitted when speaking has the ability to linger in the air longer than when they are emitted from a cough or a sneeze.
One of the researchers suggested that we really think about what we see when a person talks, and it is not uncommon to see some saliva leaving their mouth when they talk, and this is only what we can see without eyes. There are thousands more, but they are too small for us to see. When these are sent into the air, they linger around like smoke that is capable of being breathed in by those around them.
Sources: Study Finds, Wiley Online Library