SINGAPORE: There is no evidence the novel coronavirus is passed on through aerosol transmission, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said on Monday (Feb 10) as it gave an update on the coronavirus situation in Singapore.

The ministry said it looked into reports the virus could be transmitted through aerosol, but that there was currently no indication this could happen.



"Based on evidence available in China, an expert from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention has said that there is currently no evidence that the virus can be transmitted through aerosol," said MOH.

The currently known transmission routes of the virus are via respiratory droplets and physical contact, it said.

An aerosol refers to a suspension of fine solid or liquid particles in gas.



A researcher with the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention on Sunday told reporters the novel coronavirus does not suspend or float in the air for a long time.

No evidence has shown that the new virus can be transmitted through aerosol, Xinhua quoted Feng Luzhao as saying.

The virus is mainly transmitted through respiratory droplets and contact, and normally within a range of one to two metres, the report added.



Feng's remarks came a day after a Shanghai official reportedly said the novel coronavirus could be passed through aerosol transmission.

“Aerosol transmission refers to the mixing of the virus with droplets in the air to form aerosols, which causes infection after inhalation, according to medical experts,” China Daily reported Zeng Qun, deputy head of the Shanghai Civil Affairs Bureau, as saying.

Zeng had said that confirmed transmission routes of the coronavirus include direct transmission, contact transmission and aerosol transmission, the report added.

There are 45 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in Singapore as of Monday.

The latest confirmed cases are a 37-year-old Certis Cisco employee with no recent travel history to China and a two-year-old girl who was one of the 92 Singaporeans evacuated from Wuhan on Jan 30.

The novel coronavirus epidemic started in the Chinese city of Wuhan but has since spread to more than 20 countries.

It has killed more than 900 people and infected more than 40,000, most of them in mainland China.

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