C19 facts and realities for July 6, 2020
Riding the wave instead of halting it
For my paid subscribers, there will be a separate email this afternoon with specific facts that address some of the latest false claims about COVID-19 — and tips on how communicators can best de-politicize public health.
Here are the stories that matter most right now:
Time to say that COVID-19 is an “airborne” virus, according to more than 200 researchers petitioning the WHO to change its definition of airborne. The confusion stems from a long-standing classification of viruses as airborne only if they invisibly hang in the air for hours and can be inhaled by anyone. COVID-19 is thought to transmit primarily via droplets emitted from an infected person’s mouth or nose, but those droplets may be very small and travel across a room.
There’s plenty of confusion about how deadly COVID-19 actually is. This article in National Geographic goes through the science and data and explains why experts are confident that the disease is many times deadlier than seasonal flu - even factoring in that the death rate in the United States is trending downward as healthcare professionals get better at managing COVID-19 patients.
Temperature checks should give way to testing a person’s sense of smell in order to prevent COVID-19 infected people from entering events or buildings, according to several researchers in a STATNews article. Simplified methods for doing this are being piloted already.
The CDC has again updated guidance about “social distancing,” now emphasizing the need to limit time inside stores, use face coverings when in vehicles with other people, and keep distance at events and gatherings. The CDC also published guidelines for livestock and other events with animals.
Former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb says the pandemic has now put the United States back to where it was two months ago, except with multiple epicenters, and there is “no clear line of sight” on how to get it under control.
Freezer trucks holding the bodies of more than 1,000 COVID-19 victims remain at a warehouse in New York City.
Keep those faces covered whenever you get close to someone who doesn’t live in your home.