COVID-19 is airborne. Why is this so controversial?
It was mid-December when some of Ontario’s top doctors publicly told reporters that COVID-19 is airborne.
For nearly two years public health officials in Canada have shied away from using that term to describe how the novel coronavirus is spread. Instead, the focus has been on preventing the spread of the virus via droplets.
Throughout 2021, numerous health agencies and practitioners have called on public health officials to acknowledge that COVID-19 is also spread by aerosols, which can remain in the air and travel a short distance in unventilated areas. One by one, provinces and local public health units began to publicly acknowledge that, in light of the highly transmissible Omicron variant, that aerosols are likely playing a part in how the disease spreads.
This fact led to Ontario’s Science Advisory Table advising people to ditch single layer cloth masks for higher-grade personal protective equipment.
In Life Unmasked’s first episode of 2022, the team speaks with two experts to find out what it actually means for a disease to be airborne.
Raymond Tellier, a medical microbiologist and associate professor at McGill University, joins the team to run through the science behind droplets versus aerosols while Colleen Derkatch, an associate professor of rhetoric at Ryerson University, discusses why officials may have been hesitant to use the term “airborne” earlier than necessary.
Life Unmasked airs first on the iHeart app every Tuesday morning before becoming available on other streaming platforms. If you have questions for the podcast team, or an idea for an episode, please email lifeunmasked@bellmedia.ca.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
NEW For their protection, immigrants critical of China and India call for speedy passage of Canada's foreign interference legislation
Canadian immigrants threatened by hostile regimes are urging parliamentarians to quickly pass the 'Countering Foreign Interference Act' so they can feel safe living in their adopted home.
OPINION No reunion between Prince Harry and the King signifies a setback for royal unity
Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, has made headlines with his recent arrival in the U.K., this time to celebrate all things Invictus. But upon the prince landing in the U.K., we have already had confirmation that King Charles III won't have time to see his youngest son during his brief visit.
Most of Canada to receive emergency alert test today
The federal government will test its capacity to issue emergency alerts today, with the exception of Ontario, where the test will take place on May 15.
How Drake and Kendrick Lamar's rap beef escalated within weeks
A long-simmering feud between hip-hop superstars Drake and Kendrick Lamar reached a boiling point in recent days as the pair traded increasingly personal insults on a succession of diss tracks. Here’s a quick overview of what’s behind the ongoing beef.
'A huge difference': These adults born in the '90s partnered with their parents to buy homes in Ontario
An Ontario woman said it would have been impossible to buy a house without her mother – an anecdote that animates the fact that over 17 per cent of Canadian homeowners born in the ‘90s own their property with their parents, according to a new report.
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'