Two new studies published in a clinical journal raise the question of whether coronavirus transmission on long advertising air flights may be more common than previously thought.
One examined two passengers and two flight attendants on the same 15-hour flight from Boston to Hong Kong, who then tested positive for COVID-19. The genetic series of the virus in the 4 viruses was found to be identical, which, according to the study, “strongly suggests that the virus can be transmitted on air travel”.
The other examiner tested a 10-hour flight from London to Hanoi, Vietnam, in which it was discovered that 16 on board were carriers of the virus, 12 of which were elegantly seated in two seats or rows of the only symptomatic person. “The proximity of the seats is strongly linked to a greater threat of infection,” the study concluded.
Studies, whether published in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases, are vital because travelers are slowly returning to the air as more is known about how to contract COVID-19, both involving flights that took position in March and do not specify whether passengers were dressed in masks.
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Airlines now require all passengers and equipment on board flights to wear masks. In addition, many airlines have flown their aircraft at reduced capacity, blocking the middle seats to allow for greater distance between passengers.
Less well known about how to restrict coronavirus transmission when the flights studied occurred and before precautions such as mask and social distance have become common, at least in the United States.
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The first study, conducted through researchers in the UNITED Kingdom and Hong Kong, began by examining the records of 1110 who had contracted COVID-19 to see who had travelled, leading to the discovery of the organization of 4 who had been aboard the same boeing 777 long flight.
The study showed that the viral series was exclusive to the four, with the distinct option that two passengers, a married couple sitting in business class, would contract COVID-19 before taking the flight.
“The only position where the other four people were nearby for an extended period of time inside the plane,” he said.
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The other test was conducted through Vietnamese and Australian researchers, identifying a 27-year-old businesswoman with a sore throat and cough as the one who had most likely spread the infection. After Vietnamese Airlines Flight 54, a touch-finding effort was launched to take a look to restrict spread.
It was discovered that 11 of the passengers of enarded business elegance were seated near the woman. The review notes that business elegance is already much less crowded than the economy, making transmission less likely.
The inflamed passenger was sitting in a right window seat, among which later the two passengers in front of her and nine in the central aisles closest to her were inflamed, only one was on the left side of the cabin, two passengers in The economic segment of the aircraft also contracted the virus, but the study suggests that their cases were likely due to contact with the virus immigration and baggage claim, since the passengers are separated.
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The latest industry standards for foreign airlines classify the threat of in-flight transmission as very low and propose the use of masks without further measures to increase physical distance on board, such as blocking middle seats. make progress,” the test states.