Researchers have found that the emerging coronavirus hangs in the air for long periods in crowded places or rooms that lack ventilation.
This came as part of a study that supports the idea that Covid-19 disease caused by the virus can spread through airborne fine particles, known as aerosols, according to the "Bloomberg" network.
The researchers found parts of the genetic material of the Coronavirus floating in the air from hospital toilets, and in internal spaces containing large crowds, and in rooms where the medical staff disposed of gags and protective equipment used, in two hospitals in Wuhan, China.
The study, published in Nature Research, did not extend to determining whether these airborne particles could cause infection or not. But when controversy arose and questions about the ease of spreading infection with the virus emerging through the air, the World Health Organization had announced that the risk factors are limited to specific conditions, noting that the analysis of more than 75 thousand cases of infection in China did not include any indication of the infection through The air.
As the Corona pandemic spread worldwide and the infection spread to more than 3 million people, scientists sought to try to accurately understand how pollution and infection occurred.
It is known that a person produces two types of drops when he breathes, coughs or speaks, which are large-size drops that fall to the ground before they evaporate, and they transmit the infection mostly by touching things that settle on it. Smaller droplets form the aerosol, which can remain stuck in the air for several hours.
The research team, led by Professor Ki Lan of Wuhan University, created so-called aerosol traps in and around two hospitals in Wuhan, with the first epidemic cases to emerge.
Researchers have already found little aerosols in patients' wards, as well as in apartment buildings and even nearby grocery stores.
More were detected in public toilets and two areas through which large crowds passed, including a small covered yard near a hospital.
Particularly high concentrations appeared in the medical staff dressing rooms, disposing of masks, gloves, and protective equipment, indicating that particles contaminated with their belongings flew into the air again when masks, gloves and dresses were removed.
The researchers said that the results shed light on the importance of ventilation and reducing crowding, ensuring the quality of sanitation services, and attention to accurate hygiene of toilets in public facilities and public toilets.