Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, Director General of NCDC, disclosed this on Monday on Channels Television, Programme “Sunrise Daily”, while, speaking on COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control says new evidence suggests that COVID-19 may be transmitted through the air.
The Director General of the NCDC, Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, said this during the briefing of the COVID-19 Presidential Task Force on Monday.
He explained that before now the virus was believed to only be transmittable through droplets which emanate from the nose and the mouth and fall to the ground.
Ihekweazu, however, stated that studies of new infections show that the disease may also be airborne.
The NCDC boss said, “Understanding the modes of transmission of any new virus is very critical for defining response strategies. For COVID-19 from the very beginning, our understanding based on other coronaviruses was spread primarily through droplets.
“Droplets are excretions from the respiratory tracts that can’t stay on in the air. They ultimately fall to the ground after a few minutes. However, as we have studied transmission, studied clusters of these infections, we saw increasing evidence from clusters of infections. Clusters transmissions did not seem to be enough to explain the clusters that we are seeing.
“Diseases that are commonly spread by what we call airborne infection are things like measles and influenza that can be suspended in the air and transmit over longer distances. Over the past few weeks, increasing evidence has emerged that in addition to droplet infections, we cannot rule out that airborne transmission is also possible as a mode of transmission of COVID-19.”
Ihekweazu said with this new revelation, the wearing of face masks and the need to maintain social distancing had become imperative.
Famous Ghanaian rapper and composer Sarkodie is in the headlines again as he fires shots at Wizkid, Burna Boy, and… Read More
In a new video, popular Nigerian musician Habeeb Okikiola, often known as Portable, has called out his show promoter Billyque.… Read More
Wizkid's part on DJ Tunez's "Apala Disco" remix has finally leaked online, prompting mixed reactions. Wizkid, a Grammy Award winner,… Read More
Davido, a popular Nigerian artist, is making waves after liking a tweet criticising Samklef as an F00L at the age… Read More
After repaying her debt, Etinosa has continued to speak out against Pere, as her co-producers have come forward alleging, they… Read More
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, have arrived in Nigeria for a three-day stay promoting… Read More
This website uses cookies.