Areas for future research
Whilst there is an obvious need for larger scale clinical studies to attempt to support some of the more tentative findings reviewed here, there are some specific avenues in which future work could be focused. Although OPC technology has allowed studies to test for particles as small as 0.3µm, some reports place COVID-19 at 0.1µm in diameter.2 Ideally work should employ methods of detecting particles of this size to prevent underestimation when assessing risk.
Ultimately, whilst there are a host of studies considering the spread of both droplets,13-18 through which COVID-19 has been reported to spread, and smaller particles,19-24 of which COVID-19 is one, all work has been somewhat indirect in its methodology with no studies able to ascertain whether COVID-19 would be found in any of the aerosols detected or, and somewhat crucially, whether it would be viable to cause infection in another host. Whilst it is challenging to prescribe the best means by which to achieve these aims, harnessing existing methods for sampling airborne viruses may provide more definitive answers.36