The CDC still says COVID-19 mainly spreads through close contact between people within six feet of each other. But the CDC now says the virus can spread through small particles of virus that linger in the air and may be able to infect people more than six feet away. In enclosed spaces with poor ventilation, a person who was heavily breathing while singing or exercising, for example, can infect people who aren’t nearby, even after the person with COVID-19 has left the space.