A group of 239 international scientists wrote an open letter to the World Health Organization and other agencies to be more direct in explaining the nature of the virus in the air. They say that some public health officials seem reluctant to use the word “loaded.”
“The best vaccine against fear is knowing and empowering people to take care of themselves,” Donald Milton, a professor of environmental health at the University of Maryland and one of the main authors of the open letter released today, told CNN.
The virus is carried in droplets that come out of people’s mouths and noses. Larger droplets fall on surfaces and can be collected and then carried into the eyes, nose or mouth. That is why regular hand washing and surface cleaning are crucial. However, the smaller drops can stay in the air longer and be inhaled deeply into the lungs.
“A lot of people crowded inside, where it’s poorly ventilated, that’s what drives the pandemic,” said Milton. “Why it is important to wear a mask is because it blocks aerosols at their source, when it is easy to block them.”
YOU ASKED. WE RESPOND
Q: Is it true that young people with coronaviruses also have blood clots and strokes?
“The virus appears to be causing increased clotting in the large arteries, leading to a severe stroke,” said Dr. Thomas Oxley, a neurosurgeon at the Mount Sinai Health System in New York in April.
WHAT IS IMPORTANT TODAY
These counties in Texas are running out of hospital beds
Africa’s battle against Covid-19 will be won or lost here
Before the pandemic, when tourists flocked to Cape Town, they often ignored Khayelitsha. Crowded with more than half a million people, the municipality is now the center of attention.
Florida health authorities often do not trace contacts
‘Crystal clear’ that drunk people cannot distance themselves socially
A high-profile police officer, John Apter, said this after a night shift: “Confirmed what we knew, alcohol and social distancing is not a good combination.”
Nick Cordero dies after battle with Covid-19
Australia to seal 6.6 million people affected by viruses
Victoria has struggled to contain a second wave of coronavirus cases, fearing that the infection rate may soon rise across the country.
The border between Victoria and New South Wales, Australia’s two most populous states, will be closed for the first time since the pandemic began, and military and police personnel will line up at the border, allowing very few people to cross.
ON OUR RADAR
- More than 750 Georgia Tech teachers signed a letter saying the school’s plan to reopen the campus without face mask requirements is dangerous and not based on science.
- Four senior Bolivian government officials, including the health minister, tested positive for Covid-19 within a few days of each other.
- 200,000 were ordered closed in northeast Spain due to the Covid-19 outbreaks there.
- A growing outbreak in Arizona has forced neighboring Mexico to establish additional checkpoints across the border to prevent unauthorized travel and carry out health checks on people crossing from the United States.
- Efforts to beat the coronavirus pandemic could cause more than 1 million additional deaths from other diseases, experts warn.
- India has overtaken Russia to become the third most affected country in the world. The nation of 1.3 billion people has reported more than 697,000 cases and nearly 20,000 deaths as of Monday.
- Kimberly Guilfoyle, the girlfriend of Donald Trump Jr. and Trump’s chief campaign officer, has tested positive for coronavirus.
- Google Maps has released new features to help users move safely during the coronavirus pandemic.
- MIT has designed a robot that is capable of disinfecting the floor of a 4,000-square-foot warehouse in just half an hour. Someday it could be used to clean your local supermarket or school.
- A US senator said he would introduce a bill to ban the sale of intermediate seats during the pandemic after criticizing American Airlines for selling them on the flight it boarded.
- A teenager’s coronavirus-themed graduation gown made of duct tape is a work of art. It even comes with a coronavirus-shaped bag.
- More than 100 students at the University of Washington fraternity houses in Seattle have tested positive for Covid-19.
TIPS
Here you have to stay safe outside:
- Wear light-colored clothing (makes ticks easier to spot).
- Put on a hat and tuck your pants into your socks.
- Treat clothing and shoes with the insecticide permethrin.
- Use DEET insect repellent on the skin.
- Do a body check when you return home.
- Remove ticks as soon as possible. (Here is how.)
TODAY’S PODCAST
“Unfortunately, in the history of public health, there are so many events where politicians … did not recognize the problem and their populations suffered.” – Dr. Elmer Huerta, CNN Spanish senior medical writer
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