Thanks to saliva, infectious coronavirus particles linger twice as long in drier air

Recent research from the University of Colorado Boulder may have finally revealed why humans tend to get sick from airborne viral diseases more often in drier environments. The study found that airborne particles carrying a mammalian coronavirus closely related to the virus which causes COVID-19 remain infectious for twice as long in drier air. This is in part because the saliva emitted with them—stabilized by sugary carbohydrates—serves as a protective barrier around the virus, especially at low humidity levels.