SARS-CoV-2, a coronavirus that emerged in late 2019, has spread rapidly worldwide, and information about the modes of transmission of SARS-CoV-2 among humans is critical to apply appropriate infection control measures and to slow its spread. Here we show that SARS-CoV-2 is transmitted efficiently via direct contact and via the air (via respiratory droplets and/or aerosols) between ferrets, 1 to 3 days and 3 to 7 days after exposure respectively. The pattern of virus shedding in the direct contact and indirect recipient ferrets is similar to that of the inoculated ferrets and infectious virus is isolated from all positive animals, showing that ferrets are productively infected via either route. This study provides experimental evidence of robust transmission of SARS-CoV-2 via the air, supporting the implementation of community-level social distancing measures currently applied in many countries in the world and informing decisions on infection control measures in healthcare settings.

SARS-CoV-2是一种冠状病毒，于2019年末出现，已在世界范围内迅速传播，有关SARS-CoV-2在人类之间的传播方式的信息对于采取适当的感染控制措施并减缓其传播至关重要。在这里，我们显示SARS-CoV-2在暴露后的1-3天和3-7天分别通过直接接触和通过雪貂之间的空气（通过呼吸滴和/或气溶胶）有效传播。在直接接触和间接接受的雪貂中，病毒的脱落方式与已接种的雪貂相似，并且从所有阳性动物中分离出了传染性病毒，这表明雪貂是通过任一种途径进行生产性感染的。这项研究提供了SARS-CoV-2可以通过空气强劲传播的实验证据，