Stronger rules needed to reduce workplace transmission of COVID-19​

Immediate action is needed to reduce the airborne transmission of the new coronavirus in high-risk workplaces such as hospitals, schools, meatpacking plants, and prisons, a group of 13 experts say in a letter to the Biden administration.

The authors said that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention should mandate a combination of masks and environmental measures—including better ventilation—in such locations to reduce the risk FOR infection, The New York Times reported.

"It's time to stop pussyfooting around the fact that the virus is transmitted mostly through the air," said Linsey Marr, an expert on aerosols at Virginia Tech, The Times reported. "If we properly acknowledge this, and get the right recommendations and guidance into place, this is our chance to end the pandemic in the next six months. If we don't do this, it could very well drag on."

It has been nearly a year since scientists showed that the new coronavirus can be inhaled in tiny droplets that hang in stagnant indoor air. The World Health Organization said in July that the new coronavirus can linger in the air in crowded indoor spaces, and the CDC said in October that the virus can be airborne, The Times reported.