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FORTH ICE-HT on Airborne Transmission of COVID-19
Αn international team of 239 experts in the field of disease and aerosol transmission have signed a letter, which was published on July 6 2020 in the scientific journal “Clinical Infectious Diseases”, entitled “It is Time to Address Airborne Transmission of COVID-19“. The letter was addressed in an alarming way to the World Health Organization (WHO), which had not been recognizing the airborne transmission of the virus, despite the significant indications and data supporting the opposite. Among the 239 experts, two are coordinating the Center for the Study of Air Quality and Climate Change, C-STACC (Twitter) of the Institute of Chemical Engineering Sciences of the Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas (FORTH/ICE-HT) in Patras (Prof. Spyros Pandis, Professor of Chemical Engineering Dept., Univ. of Patras and Prof. Athanasios Nenes, Professor of Atmospheric Processes, EPFL, Switzerland). The letter was covered widely by the international media, and had a significant impact as WHO on July 9 acknowledged the possibility of airborne transmission of the virus and revised its recommendations regarding protective measures.