According to the New York Times, scientists for the first time "caught" the virus SARS-CoV-2 in the air and has verified its ability to penetrate cells of the virus.

A research team at the University of Florida, USA, has succeeded in isolating the living virus from aerosol in the air at a distance of 2.1 to 4.87 meters around Covid-19 treatment in hospital. The above maximum distance is also much further than the 2 meter distance recommended in the social distance.

Some researchers believe that it is still unclear whether the amount of virus suspended in the air is enough to form a chain of infections.

Aerosols are microscopic particles suspended in the air, maximum size of only 5 micrometres. Trying to collect aerosols at this size makes it very easy to destroy viruses if present.

“Collecting biological matter in the air is not easy. So we had to be a little creative, collect it in the same way that people breathe, ”says Shelly Miller, an environmental researcher at the University of Colorado Boulder.

The researchers used purified steam to increase the size of the aerosol particles in the air, which could be easily collected. Instead of leaving the aerosol particles intact, the researchers immediately converted them into a solution containing salt, sugar and protein to preserve virus samples.

In order to avoid collecting other samples of the virus that are transmitted through other respiratory routes, the researchers chose the sampling site as the treatment room for patients infected with Covid-19 at the University of Florida Health Shands Hospital.

The study also shows that the virus latches onto aerosol particles that fly much farther than a safe distance of 2 meters in a closed room.

According to the results of the study, at both distances of 2.1 meters and 4.87 meters, the team "captured" the living virus, having full ability to penetrate cells in the laboratory. The genetic test is identical to a sample of fluid taken from the throat of a Covid-19 infected person.

Research was carried out in a hospital room with a regular operating air purifier, using ultraviolet rays to disinfect, so the concentration of virus that spreads in the air is relatively low.

"In closed, less well ventilated places, viruses can be much denser," said John Lednicky, a virologist at the University of Florida, who led the research.

Some other experts said that the study has not yet evaluated in detail the risk of infection in the air. "I just don’t know how much of the virus in the air causes infection," said Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at Columbia University in New York. "Even so, this study has shown evidence that the virus is still alive in the air."

In addition, research also shows that the virus attaches to aeroseol particles flying as far as nearly 5 meters, much farther than the recommendation to keep a distance of 2 meters.

"We know that in a closed environment, the distance-keeping principle is no longer correct," says Robyn Schofield, an atmospheric chemist at the University of Melbourne, Australia. "Just after 5 minutes, the aerosol particles can be suspended throughout the room".

The principle of keeping a minimum distance of 2 meters sometimes confuses people, thinking that is enough to ensure their safety in a closed environment. But that’s not the case, explains Schofield.