COVID-19 is an airborne disease.
The post claims that the disease is airborne, and appears to be in the form of a letter from a person in quarantine because COVID-19., However, the disease is primarily spread by contact with contaminated surfaces where the virus has settled, rather than through the air., Airborne germ transmission occurs when the actual disease-causing pathogens are transmitted through the air and are inhaled by a healthy person, who then contracts the disease, but in the case of COVID-19, the disease is spread by secondary contact, where an individual touches a surface that has been contaminated with the virus, and then touches their face., According to the WHO, the virus that causes COVID-19 is mainly spread through droplets generated when an infected person sneezes, coughs or speaks, but this is not the main means of infection, which occurs after the droplets fall to the ground or onto surfaces because they are mostly too heavy to hang in the air., A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine shows that the coronavirus can survive in the air for several hours in fine droplets known as aerosols. The study also states that the virus can only be transmitted via respiratory secretions in the form of large respiratory droplets rather than small aerosols., The World Health Organization says that transmission of the virus that causes COVID-19 through the air has not been reported thus far and it is not believed to be a major driver of transmission based on available evidence. On March 29, the UN agency released an official statement clarifying that COVID-19 is NOT airborne., It is, however, important to note that COVID-19 can be transmitted by breathing in droplets containing the virus which spread within a meter of an infected person, or by touching a contaminated surface and then touching the face (eyes, nose or mouth) before cleaning one’s hands with soap and water or using alcohol-based hand rub., Protection measures against the disease include observing social distancing, which aims to prevent infected people from coming into close contact with healthy people by restricting when and where people can gather. The measures include limiting large groups of people coming together, closing schools, shutting down buildings, asking people to work from home and canceling public events., As of March 31, a total of 787,010 cases of COVID-19 have been reported, including 37,829 deaths across the globe. Kenya has so far reported 50 cases and the death of one patient., PesaCheck has looked into the claim that COVID-19 is airborne and finds it to be FALSE., This post is part of an ongoing series of PesaCheck fact-checks examining content marked as potential misinformation on Facebook and other social media platforms., By partnering with Facebook and similar social media platforms, third-party fact-checking organisations like PesaCheck are helping to sort fact from fiction. We do this by giving the public deeper insight and context to posts they see in their social media feeds., Have you spotted what you think is fake news or false information on Facebook? Here’s how you can report. And, here’s more information on PesaCheck’s methodology for fact-checking questionable content., This fact-check was written by PesaCheck Fact-Checker James Okong’o and edited by PesaCheck Editor Enock Nyariki., The article was approved for publication by PesaCheck Managing Editor Eric Mugendi., PesaCheck is East Africa’s first public finance fact-checking initiative. It was co-founded by Catherine Gicheru and Justin Arenstein, and is being incubated by the continent’s largest civic technology and data journalism accelerator: Code for Africa. It seeks to help the public separate fact from fiction in public pronouncements about the numbers that shape our world, with a special emphasis on pronouncements about public finances that shape government’s delivery of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) public services, such as healthcare, rural development and access to water / sanitation. PesaCheck also tests the accuracy of media reportage. To find out more about the project, visit pesacheck.org., PesaCheck is a joint initiative of Code for Africa, through its innovateAFRICA fund, with additional funding support from the International Budget Partnership (Kenya) and Twaweza, in partnership with a coalition of local media organisations, and the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ)., Written by, Written by
FALSE: There is no evidence to show that COVID-19 is transmitted through the air