But there are still many questions open, says Scheuch – for example, how the virus spreads when speaking or what role temperature plays. “A lot of research has to be done there,” he said. “But there is more and more research going in this direction.” It is therefore far from clear how infectiously dried aerosols are.

According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the transmission of the new virus takes place mainly via droplets that arise when coughing and sneezing and are absorbed through the mucous membranes of the person opposite. Aerosols – defined as droplet cores smaller than five micrometers – could also contribute, “even if a final evaluation is difficult at the moment”…