A team of researchers associated with several institutions in China has found evidence of hotspots for airborne SARS-CoV-2 RNA at several locations in China.
In their article published in the journal Nature, the group describes the collection of air samples from locations in China and what they have learned from analyzing these samples. Most medical researchers agree that the primary route of transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus is to eject droplets into the air when infected people cough or even breathe.
The researchers also believe that the virus can be transmitted through contact with objects in which the virus has come to rest.
In this new trial, the researchers tried to learn more about the levels of the virus that remain in the air after an infected person expels it, and to learn more about the persistence of viral aerosols, the researchers set aerosol traps inside and out hospitals that treated COVID-19 patients in February and March.
Some of the locations included hospitals where seriously ill people were treated, while others were in field hospitals where people with less severe symptoms were treated.
The team took a total of 40 samples from 31 locations, and when analyzing the samples for signs of SARS-CoV-2 RNA, the researchers found dramatically different concentrations.
As expected, they found much higher levels of the virus in the air, where there were high levels of infected patients.
They found that the concentrations in well-ventilated areas were generally low.
In other areas, such as
however, unventilated public toilets used by patients have been found to have significantly higher concentrations.
The team was also surprised to find that the aerosol concentration in rooms where medical personnel use their….
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