VIDEO: How To Protect Yourself From Coronavirus That Can Linger In The Air

We all know that if someone with the coronavirus coughs or sneezes on you, you're at risk of catching it.

But even when we speak or laugh or breathe, particles come out of our noses and mouths. Big bits of spittle can fly out when you're shouting and singing, along with respiratory droplets and tiny aerosolized particles that come out in clouds that may linger in the air. And if we're infected with the coronavirus — even if we don't have any symptoms — those excretions could contain live, contagious SARS-COV-2 that can make others sick.

In some settings — especially poorly ventilated indoor rooms where many people are gathering — researchers increasingly believe that clouds of the virus expelled when someone speaks are able to stay aloft in the air and potentially infect people farther away than the recommended 6 feet of social distance.

In these settings, an infectious person shouting or laughing or coughing can release clouds containing the virus that can build up, linger and waft in the air — and then be inhaled by passersby and settle in their lungs.