It continued: “The absence of high-quality evidence for this should not be interpreted as the absence of risk. The clinical reality is that chest compressions produce excretions from a patient’s nose and mouth. As such, irrespective of whether this is via aerosol or droplet or both, this poses a demonstrable risk to health care professionals.”

That stance was backed by Doctors’ Association UK. Chair Dr Rinesh Parmar said: “We unreservedly support the Resuscitation Council UK and share their concerns that CPR should be deemed as an aerosol generating procedure.”