A new study shows that social distancing of 1 to 3 meters is nothing but fake news and misinformation.

The study alone cannot be proof enough to say social distancing will not help in spreading of coronavirus.

The study alone cannot be proof enough to say social distancing will not help in spreading of coronavirus.The World Health Organization (WHO) and Centre for Disease Control (CDC) have both stated that social distancing is one of the precautionary measures in avoiding the spread of coronavirus, because when someone coughs or sneezes they spray small liquid droplets from their nose or mouth which may contain the virus. If a person is too close, they can breathe in the droplets, including the COVID-19 virus if the person coughing has the disease. WHO advocates 1 metre (3 feet) distance and CDC advocates 2 meters(6 feet) distance.

Thailand Medical News citing the research by Dr Lydia Bourouiba from MIT(Massachusetts Institute of Technology) are claiming that WHO, CDC and other authorities are misleading the public by advocating social distancing although there are no supporting scientific studies to say it works.

Dr Lydia Bourouiba's research finds that exhalations cause gaseous clouds that can travel up to 8.2 meters (27 feet) and calls for better measures to protect health care workers and more distance from infected people who are coughing or sneezing. She said current guidelines are based on large droplets as the method of transmission for the virus and the idea that those large droplets can only go a certain distance.

WHO acknowledged and stated that it carefully monitors emerging evidence about this critical topic and will update this scientific brief as more information becomes available.

The COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to a lot of potentially dangerous misinformation. For reliable advice on COVID-19 including symptoms, prevention and available treatment, please refer to the World Health Organisation or your national healthcare authority.