The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its COVID-19 rules to recognize the threat that coronavirus can be transmitted through respiratory waste in the air, but then replaced its online page Monday morning to remove that information, saying it was still under review.
Prior to its elimination, updated rules indicated that the maximum coronavirus spreads “through the breathing of droplets or small particles, such as those contained in aerosols,” which occur when an inflamed user coughs, sneezes, sings, speaks, or even simply breathes. , and may remain in flight for a while. The virus can then spread to others who inhale it into their airways.
Many scientists and fitness experts have warned for months that COVID-19 can be spread through airborne respiratory particles – just giant droplets from an inflamed user coughing or sneezing close to the ground.
“It’s becoming increasingly transparent that drops and debris in the air can stay suspended in the air and breathe through others, and travel distances of more than 6 feet (e. g. choir practice, restaurants, or gym classes),” the CDC said. , but then removed, according to the guidelines. ” In general, indoor environments without adequate ventilation increase this risk. “
But on Monday, the CDC updated the page to remove data on the air transmission threat, with a warning at the top: “A draft of the proposed adjustments to those recommendations was mistakenly posted on the agency’s official website. “says. ” The CDC is recently updating its recommendations for air transmission of SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19). Once this procedure is complete, the update language will be published. “
The page still states that the virus spreads “through the respiratory droplets that occur when an inflamed user coughs, sneezes or speaks”, however, data on small droplets in the air, such as aerosols, has been deleted. The page also lists breathing as a means of transmission. the virus.
On the other hand, the page says, “These droplets may fall into the mouth or nose of others nearby or are likely to inhale into the lungs. “Monday’s update also indicates that COVID-19 spreads primarily among others who have a touch (within 6 feet) and understands that it can be passed on to others who have no symptoms.
In July, the World Health Organization (WHO) identified air transmission of “microdrops” as a imaginable cause of COVID-19 infections. WHO’s popularity came after 239 scientists signed an open letter about the threat of air transmission.
Very few diseases, such as tuberculosis, chickenpox, and measles, have been found to be transmitted through aerosols; Yet Japan, for example, had been operating for months on the assumption that tiny remnants of aerosols in overcrowded environments were fueling the spread of the coronavirus. Japan followed a strategy to combat the airborne transmission of COVID-19 by telling citizens the “three Cs”: tight spaces, crowded spaces and close conversations.
The CDC also dictates that the closer and longer a user with COVID-19 with others is, the greater the threat of spreading the virus to those people.
On Friday, the CDC also updated its test rules after nearly a month of controversy over the role of political interference through Department of Health and Human Services officials over overcoming CDC scientists. to imply that other people who had been exposed to a user with coronavirus but did not have symptoms may not want to be tested. This has sparked a protest among medical experts, as other asymptomatic people can easily transmit the virus to others.
The new consultant now says: “Due to the importance of asymptomatic and presymptomatic transmission, this consultant further reinforces the desire to control asymptomatic people, adding close contact of a user with a documented SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Many public fitness experts have long asked that even other asymptomatic people get tested if they suspect they have been in contact with an inflamed person. In July, a style published through the National Academy of Sciences showed that about 50% of coronavirus cases can be simply transmitted through other people who had no symptoms.
-Lucy Craft contributed to the report.