"Hand washing and social distancing are appropriate, but in our view, insufficient to provide protection from the virus-carrying respiratory microdroplets released into the air by infected people," the paper said.
"This problem is especially acute in indoor or enclosed environments, particularly those that are crowded and have inadequate ventilation relative to the number of occupants and extended exposure periods."
Protective masks should be considered in enclosed spaces such as public transport, scientists say. Bloomberg
More than 230 scientists from 32 countries signed up to an article to urge the World Health Organisation to do more to stop the airborne spread of the disease, which has found to be the cause of several superspreading events.
Professor Morawska said wearing masks was not useful or practical for long periods of time, but should be considered for confined spaces such as public transport.
"If not removed from the air, these droplets or aerosols linger in poorly ventilated places and people who are not infected will inhale them," she told The Australian Financial Review.
"To deal with the problem, ventilation needs to be improved to remove the particles from the air. But there are situations like on crowded buses where ventilation is not enough – wearing masks is the only solution and it is a very effective one."
Professor Raina MacIntyre, who is the head of the biosecurity research program at the Kirby Institute at the UNSW, said it was abundantly clear the coronavirus was transmitted in the air.
She said some studies had shown it could survive for up to 16 hours in the air.
"It's clear as a bell to me there is airborne transmission and to most scientists who understand respiratory transmission illnesses and aerosols," she told ABC Radio National.
Lack of airflow can help spread the coronavirus in confined spaces. Oxford University Press
"There's a number of studies from hospitals that have found the virus in the air and one study showed it could be there 16 hours later. "
UNSW epidemiology professor Marylouise McLaws has also backed masks and improving airflow in closed building environments.
Federal and state health authorities have stopped short of backing the wearing of masks to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
But the lockdown of 3000 people in nine high-rise public housing towers in Melbourne showed how quickly COVID-19 can spread in close quarters.
Health experts said the removal of infected people from the towers was crucial to stop the spread.
Professor MacIntyre said scientists would know by the end of the next week whether the Victorian containment strategy was working.
It comes as another public health expert at the University of Sydney warned migrant communities in NSW are exposed to the same coronavirus risk factors as those living in Victoria due to inadequate information provided to them in their first language.
Dr Alexandra Grey, from the University of Sydney Law School, said her research showed communities where English was not their first language was not receiving official coronavirus advice.
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2020-07-07 06:40:00Z
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