There are still many doubts to be resolved about your transmission, but some data can help you take precautions.
The disease spreads from person to person through droplets (viral droplets) from the nose or saliva when an infected person coughs, sneezes, or exhales, explains the World Health Organization.
Although coughing or sneezing are the main routes of transmission, Kin-on Kwok, a professor of public health, believes that these droplets can also come out when someone laughs, sings, breathes or speaks, he told the New York Times.
If someone inhales them or touches a surface where these invisible droplets have landed and then touches their eyes, nose or mouth, they can become infected.
The disease spreads from person to person through droplets (viral droplets) from the nose or saliva when an infected person coughs, sneezes or exhales, the World Health Organization explains.
Although coughing or sneezing are the main routes of transmission, Kin-on Kwok, a professor of public health, believes that these droplets can also come out when someone laughs, sings, breathes or speaks, he told the New York Times.
If someone inhales them or touches a surface where these invisible droplets have landed and then touches their eyes, nose or mouth, they can become infected.
Viral droplets enter the body through the eyes, nose or mouth, which is why we are so insistent that we should avoid touching our faces: if we touch a contaminated surface and then scratch our eyes we may well be catching it unknowingly.
But just because you touch a contaminated surface, you are not contagious unless your infected hand comes into contact with a mucous membrane. This reiterates the importance of proper handwashing.
How far do these droplets travel? Much further than one would think. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends staying 6 feet away from the person. The World Health Organization talks about 3 feet.
There are no guarantees. Some people have very mild symptoms or maybe incubating the virus, so they do not get sick from Covid-19. Cases of people without symptoms have already been known to infect others, although they are not the majority. It is best to avoid handshakes, as the Governor of Washington does in this photo.
How long a person is contagious is still under study. For now, it is suspected that a person is contagious before they have symptoms, and the criteria the CDC recommends using to discharge sick individuals is 24 hours free of symptoms without medication and negative on two consecutive tests were done at least one day apart. But cases of re-infected people have been known to occur.
According to the WHO, so far the incubation time of the virus (the time it takes for someone to get sick) is estimated to be between 1 and 14 days, although it is most commonly five days.
What is clear is that the greater the sustained contact, the greater the risk of contagion.
It is not known exactly how long the new coronavirus lives on surfaces, but, other viruses of the same family (coronavirus) can survive on metal, glass or plastic from 2 hours to 9 days. The screen on mobile phones is made of glass. The good news: disinfectants are effective in eliminating them.
Banknotes and coins can carry the virus, Christine Tait-Burkard, an expert in immunity and infectious diseases at the Roslin Institute, told the British newspaper The Guardian. However, she says the risk of catching it through them is small: “Unless someone uses a banknote to blow their nose, don’t worry too much. Important yes, take precautions after touching surfaces such as ATMs.
If you touch a surface contaminated by that person in that location, you could get the disease, but so far the evidence available suggests that SARS-CoV-2 does not stay airborne for long periods of time (called airborne transmission) as it does with others such as measles that live for hours in the air after someone infected coughs or sneezes, explains an article published in LiveScience. That said, the possibility is also not completely ruled out because it is a new virus that is still being studied.
Yes, there is some evidence to suggest that it is possible, as the virus has been detected in the feces of people who are ill with VIDOC-19, says the WHO. However, it is not clear whether the feces have the capacity to infect another person or whether they are simply inactive traces of the virus. In any case, it would not be the main route of transmission.
It definitely is because virus droplets are present in saliva. The World Health Organization indicates that it is too early to know if the virus is sexually transmitted.
