Inside STAT: Simply speaking could transmit coronavirus, new study suggests

USING A LASER, RESEARCHERS VISUALIZED DROPLETS EMITTED WHEN A PERSON SAID "STAY HEALTHY." (NEJM)

New research from NIH scientists suggests that simply speaking at a normal volume could produce droplets that could linger in the air long enough to enter the airways of others in the vicinity. The new findings raise further concerns about the transmissibility of the novel coronavirus, as discussions in recent weeks have called to question the possibility that droplets containing the virus could be "aerosolized" in normal circumstances. Smaller droplets produced during the process of speaking are likely too small to settle down on any surfaces due to gravity, Matthew Meselson, a biologist at Harvard University tells STAT's Sharon Begley. And this likely means that, especially in enclosed spaces, even small air currents, such as those caused by when people walk around a room or when doors and windows bring in a draft, could move these particles around. Read more here.