COVID-19 is now a pandemic and the knowledge gap on SARS-CoV-2, i.e., the COVID-19 disease agent, dispersion persists. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests fomites may not be the main route through which the novel coronavirus spreads. Supporting the same view, the latest the World Health Organization report recommends wearing masks for every individual in public, highlighting the transmission through the air. In the current study AERMOD, one of the most validated and tested models suggested by the USEPA, is used to model SARS-CoV-2-laden PM₁₀ in a hypothetical outdoor environment. Multiple scenarios including particle size, wind speed, source height variations as well as and combined scenarios were modeled to estimated how exposure risk changes with the above-mentioned variables. The results reveal that wind speed majorly narrows infectious plume rather than transferring the peak concentration. The particle size variation indicated that small particles, i.e.,0.01 − 2.5 μm, could reach more than 9 m away from the source in concentration range of 10 − 20 (μg/m³). On the other hand, source height contributes to peak plume shift rather than dispersing the infected particles. This idea was further studies by using combined scenarios which indicated height difference can impact peak plume displacement rather than wind speed. In the worst-case scenario, the results indicate that the virus-laden particles can travel outdoors more than 8 m away from an infected source. The video output of the model results clearly shows the dynamic of viral peak shifts in several scenarios. The results also indicate that in specific conditions the airborne SARS-CoV-2 can be transported to 9 m away from the source. These findings can be useful for individuals as well as decision-makers to mitigated exposure risk in real-world conditions.

COVID-19 现在已成为一种大流行病，并且关于 SARS-CoV-2（即 COVID-19 病原体）的知识差距仍然存在。美国疾病控制与预防中心表示，污染物可能不是新型冠状病毒传播的主要途径。世界卫生组织的最新报告也支持同样的观点，建议每个人在公共场合佩戴口罩，强调了空气传播。在当前的研究中，AERMOD 是 USEPA 建议的最经过验证和测试的模型之一，用于在假设的室外环境中对充满 SARS-CoV-2 的 PM ₁₀进行建模。对包括颗粒大小、风速、源高度变化以及组合场景在内的多种场景进行建模，以估计暴露风险如何随上述变量变化。结果表明，风速主要缩小了传染性羽流，而不是转移了峰值浓度。粒径变化表明，小颗粒（即0.01 - 2.5 μm ）在浓度范围为10 - 20 ( μg / m ³ )时可以到达距源9 m以上。另一方面，源高度有助于峰值羽流移动，而不是分散受感染的颗粒。通过使用组合场景进一步研究了这一想法，这些场景表明高度差会影响峰值羽流位移而不是风速。在最坏的情况下，结果表明，携带病毒的颗粒可以传播到距离感染源 8 m 以上的户外。模型结果的视频输出清楚地显示了几种场景下病毒式传播峰值变化的动态。 研究结果还表明，在特定条件下，空气中的SARS-CoV-2可以被输送到距源头9 m以外的地方。这些发现对于个人和决策者降低现实条件下的暴露风险很有用。