New Research On COVID-19 Suggest 6 Feet Distance Not Enough

As the research to find a cure for the novel coronavirus or COVID-19 continues, new findings have suggested that the virus can pass on till 23 feet.

Lydia Bourouiba, associate professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology has researched the dynamics of coughs and sneezes for years, warns in her newly published research that the current social distancing guidelines to stay six feet from others are potentially insufficient.

Bourouiba has warned that "pathogen-bearing droplets of all sizes can travel 23 to 27 feet."

According to an article on the New York Post, her research, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, further states that "droplets that settle along the trajectory can contaminate surfaces" and "residues or droplet nuclei" may "stay suspended in the air for hours."

Senior journalist Ravish Kumar, in his show, Prime Time, on NDTV India discussed when discussed the coronavirus situation with Dr Imtiaz Patel of JJ Peter Medical Centre in New York and Dr Veena Jha of PCN Clinical Director in Glossop in the Manchester, UK on the procedures followed in their countries to treat coronavirus patients.

Dr Patel said that in the US it is now being advised to maintain eight feet distance rather than sic feet as suggested earlier. He also suggested that people might have to wear masks for a longer duration.

Dr Jha said that recently she has seen cases with symptoms such as the runny nose. Interestingly recent reports say that three-fifth of the confirmed COVID-19 patients are losing their sense of taste and smell. Although the World Health Organisation has not declared these symptoms as official, Dr Jha said there have been patients with mild fever and cough and they have lost their sense of taste.

She said that one in six patients become critically ill. This is not a little number when considering the entire population of the country versus a number of ventilators available.

The Union Health Ministry on April 5 said that the coronavirus cases in India are doubling every 4.1 days and that the rate could have been slower if the Delhi mosque event had not taken place. According to reports, there are currently 4,067 confirmed cases of COVID-19 of which 3,666 are currently active, 292 have recovered and 109 have died.

Also Read: COVID-19 Outbreak India: Cases Double In Three Days, 25% linked to Delhi Mosque