>"sub micron particles are considered aeresol. They arent really produced in any detectable quantity with normal breathing, though they arent non existant. However unless its humid out they are going to evaporate super fast as well."

Actually sub-micron particles are created in infectious levels with every breath.

@freemo @torresjrjr @NEETzsche @mkljczk @ducheng

Even when all the H2O has evaporated from a particle, there can remain lipids and the protein shell of the virus itself can help keep it viable. This is one of the reasons why variants can become more transmissible, because outer proteins can allow them to survive even when all the water has evaporated. UV light also plays a factor.

>"The point here is that airborne isnt airborne in the same sense as smoke."

The particles are roughly the same size, and can stay in the air the same amount of time, its survivability that makes the difference, not the time it's airborne.

@Pat

> Actually sub-micron particles are created in infectious levels with every breath.

Incorrect, studies have shown normal breathing creates virtually no aerosol.

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/.

> Even when all the H2O has evaporated from a particle, there can remain lipids and the protein shell of the virus itself can help keep it viable.

No viruses dont persist outside of droplets. That would be true airborne status and there is simply no evidence to suggest that is the case as shown by the following study:

"If SARS-CoV-2 could travel in the air, outside liquid droplets, it might be carried longer distances on air currents. There is currently no robust scientific evidence to support airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2."

Morawska L, Cao J. Airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2: The world should face the reality. Environment International. 2020 Apr;139:105730. DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2020.105730.

@torresjrjr @NEETzsche @mkljczk @ducheng

@freemo @torresjrjr @NEETzsche @mkljczk @ducheng

Pre-covid research (mostly influenza) focused on transmisiblity due to particle size, i.e., that stopping "droplets" would stop the virus because they thought smaller particles would not be viable, but since the start of the pandemic they've completely changed that paradigm...

-------
quote:
"Recent studies indicates that aerosol transmission of the severe acute respiratory
42 syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is plausible since the virus can remain viable and
43 infectious in aerosol form for hours.

"Is the Current N95 Respirator Filtration Efficiency Test Sufficient for Evaluating
Protection Against Submicrometer Particles Containing SARS-CoV-2?
3
4 Changjie Cai 1,* , Evan L. Floyd 1 , Kathleen A. Aithinne 1 , Toluwanimi Oni 1
5 1
6
7
Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, University of Oklahoma
Health Sciences Center, University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73104,
USA
8
9
10
To be submitted to:
Revised on June 8, 2020

citing:
1. van Doremalen N, Bushmaker T, Morris DH, Holbrook MG, Gamble A, Williamson
179 BN, et al. Aerosol and surface stability of SARS-CoV-2 as compared with SARS-
180 CoV-1. New England Journal of Medicine. 2020; DOI: 10.1056/NEJMc2004973
181
2. Asadi S, Bouvier N, Wexler AS, & Ristenpart WD. The coronavirus pandemic and
182 aerosols: Does COVID-19 transmit via expiratory particles? Aerosol Science and
183 Technology, 2020; 54(6), 635-638.

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