CDC Pulls Updated Guidance on Coronavirus Spread, Saying it was Posted By Mistake
A sign posted at the Nueva Maravilla apartments amid the global COVID-19 pandemic, Sunday, April 26, 2020, in Monterey Park, Calif. Associated Press
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STATE AND LOCAL NEWS ROUNDUP | Barges came ashore during Florida hurricane ... Maryland lab stopped using coronavirus tests acquired by governor after false positives ... Pennsylvania inmate finds noose in bed.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday edited its website to remove recently added language referring to the novel coronavirus as an “airborne virus” that can spread via “respiratory droplets or small particles,” including those produced when a person breathes. The change was the third major revision to the CDC’s information and guidelines on Covid-19 since May, according to the Washington Post. The language, added Friday, also stated that the virus can be spread over a distance greater than 6 feet, contradicting previous guidance that had indicated that the virus spread mainly via closer contact and primarily through “respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs, sneezes, or talks.” Public health experts have said for months that there is substantial evidence that the virus is airborne and can be transmitted in small particles that linger in the air for extended periods of time. But a CDC official said the update had been posted by mistake when “an early draft of a revision went up without any technical review.” The edited page removes all references to airborne spread, noting that the original changes were “posted in error” and that the agency “is currently updating its recommendations regarding airborne transmission of SARS-Cov-2 (the virus that causes Covid-19).” Updated language will be posted “once this process has been completed,” it concludes. [Washington Post, CNN, Time]
YARD BARGE | At least four barges came ashore onto people’s yards in Pensacola, Florida during Hurricane Sally, blasting through seawalls and leaving homeowners with the unenviable task of coordinating removal. Sanska USA, the construction company that owns the barges, said in a statement that it regrets the situation but made “all appropriate preparations” based on the information available before the hurricane. Removal of the barges, it had determined, was neither “safe nor feasible.” [Pensacola News Journal]
LEGISLATOR POSTS QANON SLOGANS | Walmart and Amazon both donated money to help re-elect a state lawmaker who used social media to spread and promote the QAnon conspiracy theory, according to a review by the Associated Press. Amazon said in a statement it had donated to state Rep. Susan Lynn’s re-election campaign almost a year ago and did not plan on donating again, and Kentucky-based distillery Brown-Forman said it was not aware of Lynn’s posts and wouldn’t have donated to her campaign if it was. QAnon is a baseless conspiracy based on the belief that President Donald Trump is secretly fighting enemies in the “deep state,” as well as a child sex-trafficking ring run by pedophiles and cannibals, many of them prominent politicians and celebrities. Experts say the corporate donations are further proof that the conspiracy has wound its way into the mainstream. Lynn told the AP last week that she does not support the conspiracy theory despite using its slogan prominently on her social media pages. [Associated Press]
FLAWED TESTS? | The University of Maryland lab in Baltimore has stopped using the South Korean coronavirus tests procured by Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, saying officials have concerns about a number of false positive results. State officials have downplayed the lab moving to tests created by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but Democratic lawmakers say that they need to more thoroughly investigate the test’s quality. [Baltimore Sun]
NOOSE ALLEGATION | An inmate at a state prison in Pennsylvania found a noose in his bunk in July after staff searched his dorm. The man and two witnesses said it was left by a Correctional Emergency Response Team (CERT), a group of state prison staff who conduct searches and other special operations. In the last two years, prisoners in at least four state facilities have filed complaints against CERT teams alleging the destruction of legal documents, smearing food or detergent into paperwork or clothing, or using hate symbols—including swastikas and homophobic terms—to deface family photos and other objects. A spokeswoman for the state Department of Corrections said an investigation into the most recent allegation determined that staff did not make the noose, but said the department “takes these claims seriously and will investigate.” [Philadelphia Inquirer]
Managing editor Laura Maggi contributed to this report.
Kate Elizabeth Queram is a staff correspondent for Route Fifty and Laura Maggi is its managing editor.
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