Study shows COVID airborne infectivity drops by 90% within minutes

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – The potential for a COVID-19 infection plummets by 90% within minutes after a person expels the virus, a new study suggests.

Researchers at the University of Bristol assessed how long viral droplets lingered in the air over time spanning from five seconds to twenty minutes. Within twenty minutes the virus’ ability to cause infection dropped to just ten percent with a majority of the loss being within the first five minutes.

These lab results, authors say, suggest COVID-19 particles rapidly decay making them nearly incapable of surviving in a suspended environment long after being airborne.

It’s important to note the highly-transmissible Omicron variant was not included in the simulation.

The paper is pending independent review.