The Ministry of Health said in a statement on Feb. 10 that there is currently no evidence that the novel coronavirus can be transmitted through aerosol, or infection by air.

According to the statement, based on evidence presented by a medical expert from China's Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the currently known transmission routes of the virus are via respiratory droplets and physical contact.

Chinese publication reported virus can spread through aerosol transmission

MOH's statement may have been made in reference to an article by Chinese state media China Daily, which quoted Zeng Qun, deputy head of Shanghai Civil Affairs Bureau.

Zeng claimed that the coronavirus has been confirmed to be able to spread through aerosol transmission, although he was later contradicted by Feng Luzhao, a researcher with the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Temasek Holdings CEO Ho Ching made a public Facebook post addressing this, saying that there is a big difference between airborne transmission of a pathogen, such as the novel coronavirus, and transmission via droplets.

Droplets that are airborne for a few seconds before falling to the ground is not considered airborne transmission, she wrote on Facebook, and the public should not confuse this with pathogens that float around in the air for people to breathe in sometime later.

"The airborne route describes viruses or bacteria which are carried by currents in the air or by tiny dust particles to float around in the air for extended periods," she said.

Ho emphasised that the virus must be present in the air for extended periods of time to be considered capable of airborne transmission, and that the droplets being airborne for a few seconds before falling to the ground does not fit that criteria.

Top image from MOH.