Scientists have known that the coronavirus can stay suspended in air, but now they’ve confirmed that the tiny droplets are infectious.

University of Nebraska researchers found that the SARS-CoV-2 virus taken from tiny five-micron droplets suspended in air was able to replicate itself under lab conditions.

The World Health Organization issued a warning last March to medical personnel after a study revealed that the potentially deadly virus can become airborne. According to CNBC, WHO issued “airborne precautions” for medical staff after studies confirmed that the coronavirus can survive in the air, particularly in hospital settings.

Until now, it was not known if these droplets expelled when we breathe or talk are contagious. According to AFP, the new findings by the University of Nebraska researchers mean that the virus can be infectious in distances much farther than the six feet social distancing guidelines.

Joshua Santarpia, an associate professor at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, said it was difficult obtaining the samples from patients but his team managed to collect microdroplets as small as one micron in diameter. These droplets can travel much greater distances than large droplets and therefore have the potential of being more contagious. Now we know that potential may be a reality.

“It is replicated in cell culture and therefore infectious,” Santarpia told AFP. A study published in March in the New England Journal of Medicine stated that aerosolized coronavirus particles can live up to three hours in the air, and could infect people long after being expelled. This information confirms that wearing a mask in public is critical to avoid contracting COVID-19.

Virginia Tech’s Linsey Marr, a noted expert on aerosols and viruses, told AFP:

“Based on what we know about other diseases and what we know so far about SARS-CoV-2, I think we can assume that if the virus is ‘infectious in aerosols,’ then we can become infected by breathing them in.”