A new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the U.S. revealed that an asymptomatic choir member who participated in a 2.5-hour study infected 52 of 61 colleagues, including two people who died of COVID-19 complications.
The new type of coronavirus disease, COVID-19, where both societies and scientists had a hard time understanding the transmission mechanism, is now open in many ways. We have known for a long time: Just talking is enough to spread virus droplets that can infect the coronavirus to other people.
On the other hand, as we have shared with you before, an increasing number of simulations also reveal how droplets travel in the air after coughing or sneezing. These studies also show that air circulation in a confined space can contribute to the distribution of COVID-19 micro-droplets and increase the risk of infection for other people in the area.
Perhaps the most worrying of all of this is research that proves that the virus can survive on various surfaces for days. Therefore, when a person talks, sneezes or coughs, everything around him can get contaminated with virus-containing droplets. After touching these surfaces, people who take them to the face without washing their hands get into the grip of the disease at a high rate.
A recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the U.S. revealed that an asymptomatic choir member who participated in a 2.5-hour study was responsible for infecting 52 of 61 colleagues, including two people who died of COVID-19 complications.
According to the study, a person in the choir had cold-like symptoms that began on March 7 or recently. Instead of staying in quarantine, the person joined the choir study just three days later. The study, which started on the evening of March 10, lasted 2.5 hours. Several members arrived early in the hall to set up six rows of chairs, each consisting of 20 seats. Since only 61 people from the 122-person team participated in the study, some people worked in a different place for 40 minutes.
They were then divided into two small groups for a separate 50-minute session. Each group moved to a smaller room and sat side by side during the study. They then took a 15-minute break and then gathered again for a 45-minute joint session in the old chair layout.
Participants began to show coronavirus symptoms one to 12 days after the study. Three out of 53 patients were hospitalized, and two died after about two weeks. The CDC states that 19 of them were classified as possible cases, but they did not call health officials to confirm whether they showed symptoms.
The research once again shows us that not using face masks in crowded places and touching the same surfaces as people are the most important risk factors for COVID-19 disease, but it is worth noting that no national crisis has been declared in the USA yet and social distance rules have not been applied during the event in question.
