Study suggests coronavirus can spread through speaking

A new study by the University of Nebraska suggests that COVID-19 can spread through normal speaking and breathing, and travel further than two metres, according to a report by AFP. The findings have not yet been peer-reviewed.

The scientists collected air samples from the rooms of five COVID-19 patients from about 30cm (about one foot) above the foot of their beds. The patients were talking - producing microdroplets that can remain in the air for a number of hours - and some were coughing.

Three of the 18 samples were able to replicate in the lab. Joshua Santarpia, an associate professor at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, said the findings supported the idea that people can get COVID-19 through microdroplets.