As the weather warms, people are understandably worried that their careful social distancing during the pandemic will all be for nothing if it turns out mosquitoes can transmit COVID-19. Thankfully, the World Health Organization reports that mosquitoes cannot transmit coronavirus.
“To date there has been no information nor evidence to suggest that the new coronavirus could be transmitted by mosquitoes,” reads a handy list of COVID-19 myth busters on the WHO website. There is also no evidence pointing to the COVID-19 virus being transmitted via houseflies. Both are welcome news to horse owners.
Dr. Jason Kindrachuk, a researcher of emerging viruses at the University of Manitoba – a province notoriously plagued by the insects – told Global News, “The lucky thing for us is that this virus and this family of viruses is not one that is carried by insects, so the likelihood of transmission is very much minimal.”
COVID-19 is only spread through respiratory droplets when an infected person coughs, sneezes or speaks. People can also be infected by touching a contaminated surface and then their eyes, mouth or nose. So for now it’s just other people, not bugs, we need to watch out for to avoid infection.
