The debate over coronavirus transmission is becoming a full-on culture war when we don't have the full evidence base to know for sure exactly how it spreads. Does it spread in the air? Almost certainly. Does it spread on surfaces, yes but seemingly to a lesser extent.

The question of airborne or aerosolised transmission is a bit of a red herring. Water droplet size is a spectrum from tiny to large, it doesn't make sense from a public health perspective to arbitrarily designate a cut-off that renders it "airborne" or otherwise.

This question is important but mostly in terms of hospitals where sick people don't move around. From a public health perspective, whether it is airborne or not doesn't make much of a difference because the advice is the same: wash your hands, wear a mask, and keep your distance.

The worst thing that could happen because of this argument would be for people to stop taking precautions to avoid surface transmission because it can happen (though we don't know what concentration of virus particles on a surface is necessary for this to take place).

We have to keep washing our hands. We have to keep a maximum distance from other people. We have to wear masks. And yes, ventilation is good too. That's it.

More in this video from @cggbamford @drlenaciric and @andrewleedr from 31.00 onwards. https://twitter.com/ConversationUK/status/1303709952578433025

I know everything has to be a culture war, but I really wish this wasn't a culture war.