Indonesia Warns Public About Covid-19 Airborne Transmission

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – Indonesia’s Covid-19 Task Force has urged the public to take further precautions against the coronavirus after the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed the possibility for airborne transmission.

“The virus can be passed by air via micro droplets from individuals infected with Covid-19,” said Task Force spokesman Achmad Yurianto on Thursday, July 9.

“Micro droplets can last long in the open because of their exceptionally small size. They will last even longer in poorly ventilated areas.”

Achmad suggested a number of new measures to guard against airborne transmission of Covid-19, along with a number of tried and tested steps such as wearing masks, social distancing, and regularly washing hands.

"We should ensure that air circulation and ventilation of our office workspaces be properly maintained on a daily basis. If we can get fresh air from outside, then that should be prioritized.”

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Achmad added that the same precautions can carried out in cars.

“[Motorists] should open their car windows every morning before their commute,” he said. “This will let in fresh air to the car and let oxygen that has been circuating from the car’s air-condition out.”

Indonesia acknowledged the possibility of Covid-19 airborne transmission after the WHO admitted that the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes Covid-19 can spread by air during a meeting in Geneva on Tuesday, July 7.

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The WHO was forced to make this admission after 232 medical experts from 32 countries pressured the organization into revising its Covid-19 emergency guidelines. Previously the WHO maintained that the Covid-19 virus is mostly spread by droplets from the mouth and nose of those infected by the coronavirus.

They added that the droplets will fall on surfaces quickly, instead of lingering in the air like microdroplets.

Indonesia currently has 72,347 Covid-19 cases. The virus has killed 3,469 people in the country, while 33,529 cases have been confirmed to have recovered. (Writer: Dian Erika Nugraheny | Editor: Diamanty Meiliana)

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