Risk of inflight spread of COVID-19 'very low', not zero: WHO

The risk of COVID-19 spreading on flights appears “very low” but cannot be ruled out, despite studies showing only a small number of cases, the WHO said. “In-flight transmission is possible but the risk appears to be very low, given the volume of travellers and the small number of case reports. The fact that transmission is not widely documented in the published literature does not, however, mean it does not happen,” the WHO said. The characterisation of the risk echoes the findings of a US Defense Department study that last week described the probability of catching the disease on airliners as “very low”. Some airlines have however used more robust language to describe the risk of onboard transmission. Southwest and United have both said that recent studies had found that the risk was “virtually non-existent”.<br/>