By Juan Ignacio Chávez
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stated on Monday that COVID-19 spreads through particles in the air and travels up to distances of six feet.
“CDC continues to believe, based on current science, that people are more likely to become infected the longer and closer they are to a person with COVID-19. Today’s update acknowledges the existence of some published reports showing limited, uncommon circumstances where people with COVID-19 infected others who were more than 6 feet away or shortly after the COVID-19-positive person left an area,” said the CDC.
This new guidance would have severe implications for political rallies, sports events, and concerts, especially “enclosed, poorly ventilated spaces that may contribute to the buildup of virus-carrying particles.”
The fact that the same guidance was affirmed and then disclaimed one month ago suggests tensions between Trump‘s administration and public health officials over how to address objective information to the public. At the time, a CDC spokesman had told the Wall Street Journal: “A draft version of proposed changes to these recommendations was posted in error to the agency’s official website.” Critics all around the country interpreted this action as the result of political pressure, which would be consistent with the policy shown thus far by the White House. The new guidance coincides with President Trump‘s hospitalization for COVID-19.
To this day, coronavirus has killed 210,000 people in the United States, as New York City sees a rise in cases. The CDC‘s new statement recommends caution and says that people “can protect themselves from the virus that causes COVID-19 by staying at least 6 feet away from others, wearing a mask that covers their nose and mouth, washing their hands frequently, cleaning touched surfaces often and staying home when sick.”
