In an updated guidance, the novel coronavirus spreads primarily through person to person contact, a revised page on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website titled "How COVID-19 Spreads."
The updated page states that the highly contagious virus spreads quickly among humans but doesn't easily spread in other ways, like through contaminated animals or objects.
As scientists and health experts have long pointed out, the disease spreads between people who are within six feet of distance from each other. Specifically, when a sick person sneezes, coughs, or talks, respiratory droplets can find themselves through the eyes, nose or mouth of another person in close proximity and potentially infect them. A person can spread the disease even if he/she does not show any symptoms or feel sick.
Thus, wiping door knobs, grocer cart handles or office desks is less important than staying away from crowded areas to prevent the spread of the virus, the CDC's revised guidance disclosed. Aside from contaminated objects and surfaces, other low-risk ways for the disease to spread are from animals to people, and vice versa, the CDC stated.
The new guidance from the CDC came despite recent studies that revealed the disease can survive on surfaces for many hours - even days - and expert advice on how to deep-clean different kinds of surfaces.
Many people became worried that by simply touching a surface they may contract the virus, Dr. John Whyte, chief medical officer of healthcare website WebMD, said. "That is simply not the case. Even when a virus stays on a surface, it does not mean that it is actually infectious," he explained.
Although the risk of the disease spreading from surfaces to people is lower compared to that of person-to-person contact, the CDC still recommends maintaining the same safety measures: social distancing, proper hand washing with soap and water, and routine disinfecting of frequently-touched surfaces.
Meanwhile, as states across the United States and elsewhere around the globe start to reopen schools and businesses, the CDC laid out new considerations to guide their safe reopening. The CDC suggested that classrooms should have proper ventilation, while students must be seated at least six feet apart and facing the same direction or should only sit on one side of tables and spaced apart.
Meanwhile, the novel coronavirus has claimed the lives of at least 338,128 people since the outbreak was first reported in Wuhan, China last December, based on a tally from official sources compiled by AFP on Saturday.
At least 5,218,260 cases of the disease have been recorded in 196 countries. Of these figure, at least 2,016,300 have been reported to have recovered.
