The virus is only confirmed to spread through intimate contact.

The United States Centers for Disease Control has been keeping an eye on the global spread of the monkeypox virus, attempting to determine the means by which it is spreading and the best way to keep it in check. Recently, rumors had been circulating that monkeypox had reached airborne status, not unlike COVID-19, but according to the CDC, the virus has not yet reached that point.

According to CDC notes released on Thursday on monkeypox transmission, the virus “is not known to linger in the air and is not transmitted during short periods of shared airspace. Monkeypox spreads through direct contact with body fluids or sores on the body of someone who has monkeypox, or with direct contact with materials that have touched body fluids or sores, such as clothing or linens. It may also spread through respiratory secretions when people have close, face-to-face contact.”

The spread of monkeypox through small virus particles that linger in the air "has not been reported," the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in guidance posted Thursday. https://t.co/WL9zqclOLH

— CNN International (@cnni) June 10, 2022

Following this, the CDC advised the use of face masks to prevent the exchange of respiratory droplets, though only in indoor situations where one could be reasonably sure they would be in close physical proximity with another person’s face.

“In the current monkeypox outbreak, we know that those with disease generally describe close, sustained physical contact with other people who are infected with the virus,” the CDC said. They are currently conducting studies to determine if the virus can spread through other kinds of bodily fluids.