April 13, 2020 / By Chris Ciaccia | Fox News
The coronavirus pandemic has resulted in public health and government officials in the U.S. recommending social distancing practices of at least six feet. A new study, however, suggests the SARS-CoV-2 virus was “detected in [the] air[13 feet] from patients.”
The research, published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, says the “maximum transmission distance of SARS-CoV-2 aerosol” could be four meters or 13 feet.
The virus was also found present on the floor of the ICU unit in a hospital in Wuhan, China and on the soles of healthcare professionals, according to the study, which was conducted from Feb. 19 to March 2, 2020.
“In addition, as medical staff walk around the ward, the virus can be tracked all over the floor, as indicated by the 100 [percent] rate of positivity from the floor in the pharmacy, where there were no patients,” researchers wrote in the study. “Furthermore, half of the samples from the soles of the ICU medical staff shoes tested positive. Therefore, the soles of medical staff shoes might function as carriers. The 3 weak positive results from the floor of dressing room 4 might also arise from these carriers. We highly recommend that persons disinfect shoe soles before walking out of wards containing COVID-19 patients.”
