Over the weekend, the Centers for Disease Control announced that droplets or small particles linked to coronavirus that occur when breathing, coughing or sneezing, can spread through the air.
On Monday, the CDC abruptly removed the information on airborne transmission, saying the update “was posted in error.”
“A draft version of proposed changes to these recommendations was posted in error to the agency’s official website. CDC is currently updating its recommendations regarding airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19). Once this process has been completed, the update language will be posted,” Jason McDonald, a CDC spokesman, said in statement.
In language posted Friday and now removed, CDC guidance stated, “There is growing evidence that droplets and airborne particles can remain suspended in the air and be breathed in by others, and travel distances beyond 6 feet (for example, during choir practice, in restaurants, or in fitness classes),” the website says. “In general, indoor environments without good ventilation increase this risk.”
Guidance posted on Friday also said the airborne virus can cause coronavirus infection when “inhaled into the nose, mouth, airways, and lungs.”
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Actress Vivica A. Fox announced that she has tested positive for coronavirus. The E! correspondent was scheduled to be co-host “Live From the Red Carpet: The 2020 Emmy Awards” but sat out the event and is quarantining at home.
In a message to viewers, Fox encouraged others to follow safety and health guidelines to prevent the spread of the virus. [READ MORE]
In a new paper published in the AIDS and Behavior journal, health experts are proposing a national COVID-19 strategy modeling the HIV/AIDS strategy developed by the Obama administration in 2010.
A national strategy, the experts say, should be transparent, comprehensive and rooted in science. According to the Centers for Disease Control, the Obama administration’s HIV/AIDS Strategy was the first-ever comprehensive coordinated roadmap to address the crisis. The plan was updated in 2015 to include “prevention and treatment and addressing disparities and also coordinating services between the federal government, the state and local governments, and the private sector too,” said one of the study’s authors, Dr. David Holtgrave.
As the U.S. quickly approaches 200,000 deaths, Trump is giving himself high marks in dealing with the pandemic.
“We’ve done a phenomenal job. Not just a good job, a phenomenal job. Other than public relations, but that’s because I have fake news. On public relations, I give myself a D. On the job itself, we take an A+.”
The new Covid-19 forecast from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington has forecast over 378,000 death in the U.S. by January 1. Three thousand deaths per day are expected by the end of December and between now and January 1, approximately 180,000 deaths are anticipated. The IMHE adds that if a universal mask mandate were put in place, the number of projected deaths would drop to over 263,000.
