AFAIK the medical consensus is that the virus exploits the cough reaction etc. to infect other hosts. E.g. quick random Google: https://bmjopenrespres.bmj.com/

AFAIK the medical consensus is that the virus exploits the cough reaction etc. to infect other hosts. E.g. quick random Google: https://bmjopenrespres.bmj.com/content/3/1/e000118 https://bmjopenrespres.bmj.com/content/3/1/e000118 "The commonest form of cough is caused by upper respiratory tract infection and has no benefit to the host. The virus hijacks this natural defence mechanism in order to propagate itself through the population."