This is our daily update of the latest COVID-19 news for Monday, July 6, 2020. Previous daily updates It can be found hereand updated statistics are here.
New York is in Phase 3 of reopening now, what includes Nail salons, tattoo parlors and massage facilities as well as recreation such as tennis and basketball courts; dog runs they are also reopening. A look at preparing for the spread of the coronavirus is here, and if you have lingering questions about the virus, here is our Regularly updated coronavirus faq. Here are some local and state hotlines for more information: NYC: 311; New York State Hotline: 888-364-3065; NJ State Hotline: 800-222-1222.
Here is the latest:
An upcoming research paper signed this week by 239 scientists is asking the World Health Organization to recognize what they argue is growing evidence that the virus can be transmitted through airborne particles that remain in the air.
The study titled “Time to Tackle Covid-19 Air Transmission” was shared with The New York Times and Washington Post prior to publication in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases.
“There is no reason for fear. Not that the virus has changed. We believe it has been transmitted this way all the time, “José Jiménez, a chemist at the University of Colorado who signed the document, told the Washington Post.” Knowing this helps focus measures to control the pandemic more precisely. “
If the theory of airborne transmission is true, I would suggest that government officials should give even greater importance to the use of high-quality face masks like the N95 versions, as well as adequate ventilation. The finding could also help explain so-called “overpreparation” incidents that occur after people gather in crowded and poorly ventilated areas.
The WHO has argued that while airborne transmission is possible, the evidence was not sufficient to support it. Instead, the agency has said the virus spreads through larger drops and has emphasized social estrangement and handwashing.
The latest pressure from the broader scientific community is another blow to the reputation of the global health agency. Since the outbreaks in China erupted, the WHO has been criticized for its response, for its prompt defense of the way China reported cases pending until March to declare a pandemic.
President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly blamed China for the virus, even when he has ignored his own public health experts on how to contain the virus, announced in May that the United States would withdraw from the WHO, resulting in the loss of vital viruses. financing to the organization.
The New York Times reported that scientists who valued the WHO but also described the agency as having a “rigid and overly medicated view of scientific evidence,” which has made the test bar unrealistically high.
At least one study published last month by US researchers found that airborne transmission is “highly virulent and represents the dominant route for transmission of this disease.”
The document added: “However, the importance of transmission by air has not been considered in the establishment of mitigation measures by government authorities. Specifically, while the WHO and the Centers for Control and Prevention of Diseases (CDC) have emphasized the prevention of contact transmission, both the WHO and the CDC have largely ignored the importance of the air transmission route. “
Some experts have also argued that in the face of a deadly and rapidly spreading pandemic, the public health community should simply assume the worst.
“There is no incontrovertible evidence that SARS-CoV-2 travels or is significantly transmitted by aerosols, but there is absolutely no evidence that it is not,” said Dr. Trish Greenhalgh, a primary care physician at the Oxford University in Great Britain. Times.
“So right now we have to make a decision in the face of uncertainty, and my God, it will be a disastrous decision if we make a mistake,” he said. “So why not mask for a few weeks, just in case?”
