Bigger globs fall faster than they evaporate so that they splash down nearby in the form of droplets ( Grayson et al., 2016 Liu et al., 2016). Such viral particles are known to be encapsulated in globs of mucus, saliva, and water, and the fate/behavior of globs in the environment depends on the size of the globs. In general, infected people spread viral particles whenever they talk, breathe, cough, or sneeze. However, many respiratory viruses are believed to transmit over multiple routes, of which droplet and aerosol transmission paths become paramount, but their significance in transmitting the disease remains unclear ( Morawska and Cao, 2020 Shiu et al., 2019). Morawska (2006) has presented a classification for virus transmission, including human-human transmission, airborne transmission, and other means of transmission such as endogenous infection, common vehicle, and vector spread. There are various classifications reported in the literature for modes of transmission of different infectious agents. Infectious agents may spread from their natural reservoir to a susceptible host in different pathways. COVID-19 infection triggers severe acute respiratory illness, with fever, cough, myalgia, and fatigue as common symptoms at the onset of illness ( Huang et al., 2020 Judson and Munster, 2019 Nicas et al., 2005). As of May 05, 2020, there have been more than 3.5 million confirmed cases and 243,401 deaths by the COVID-19 disease worldwide ( WHO, 2020a). It has been more than 120 days that COVID-19, later declared as a pandemic and highly contagious, was first reported.
The disease is caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) ( Gorbalenya, 2020) and asseverated to be transmitted from human-to-human by multiple means, namely, by droplets, aerosols, and fomites ( Wang and Du, 2020). Hence, clearly defined, science-based administrative, clinical, and physical measures are of paramount importance to eradicate the COVID-19 pandemic from the world.Ĭoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was first reported in Wuhan, China, in December 2019 ( Chen et al., 2020).
Interestingly, the nosocomial transmission by airborne SARS-CoV-2 virus-laden aerosols in healthcare facilities may be plausible. The infection propensities in confined spaces (airplane, passenger car, and healthcare center) by the transmission of droplets and aerosols under varying ventilation conditions were discussed. The case studies that have come out in different countries have, with prima facie evidence, manifested that the airborne transmission plays a profound role in contracting susceptible hosts. This review paper intends to outline the literature concerning the transmission of virus-laden droplets and aerosols in different environmental settings and demonstrates the behavior of droplets and aerosols resulted from a cough-jet of an infected person in various confined spaces. Undeniably, although such practices help control the COVID-19 pandemic to a greater extent, the complete control of virus-laden droplet and aerosol transmission by such practices is poorly understood. The practice of social distancing and wearing masks has been popular worldwide in combating the contraction of COVID-19.
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