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The country's "divisive state" is hurting the response against covid-19, says Fauci | CNN

2020-09-22T17:41:18.064Z


The United States has been going through the covid-19 pandemic for months, and various security measures remain controversial points, including face masks. Experts agree that this division harms a negative response against the covid. | United States | CNN


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(CNN) -

One of the things that get in the way of clear and consistent messages when it comes to the covid-19 pandemic in the United States is the current state of division in the country, said Dr. Anthony Fauci.

"We are in such a divisive state in society that it tends to become politicized," the nation's leading infectious disease expert said Monday night on "The Daily Show with Trevor Noah."

"It's almost one side facing the other," Fauci said.

The United States has been going through the covid-19 pandemic for months, and various security measures remain controversial points, including face masks.

While many across the country have accepted experts' recommendations to wear face masks to protect against the spread of the virus, others have protested their use.

“People take sides, as if wearing a mask or not is a political statement and that is really unfortunate, totally unfortunate because it is a purely public health issue.

It shouldn't be against each other, ”Fauci said.

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"It is extremely confusing"

But even Americans who want to follow the experts' guidance on Covid-19 encountered a confusing message this week.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated their guide to say that COVID-19 can be spread through the air, but days later they abruptly reverted to the guide published months ago, saying the virus is believed to be spreading. It is spread mainly between people in close contact and "through respiratory droplets that are produced when an infected person coughs, sneezes or talks."

Several studies have shown that the virus can be spread through small particles in the air.

"It's extremely confusing," Dr. Leana Wen, CNN medical analyst and emergency physician at George Washington University, told CNN.

"And that kind of whiplash, especially without a direct explanation from the CDC, creates confusion and sadly leads to a lack of trust in the CDC in general."

That confusion comes at a time when covid-19 trends in many states are heading in the wrong direction and when the United States surpassed 200,000 deaths from the virus.

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Confusion could contribute to the rise of the coronavirus

With the arrival of fall, the United States is heading toward what CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield predicted could be one of the "most difficult times" in American public health.

An expert told CNN this week that the next few months could have an "apocalyptic fall."

"It's happening because we're forcing schools to reopen in high-transmission areas," said Dr. Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine.

“We are forcing the universities to reopen, and we do not have the leadership at the national level.

We are telling people to wear masks and to keep physical distance and do all the things we have to do.

The United States could have another spike in cases, and that spike could occur in addition to flu season, which health officials warned could complicate matters, greatly.

At least 24 states now report an increase in new cases compared to the previous week, according to data from Johns Hopkins University, many of them in the heartland and the Midwest of the United States.

Why?

Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo, an infectious disease expert at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, says there are several factors that could be contributing to the rising numbers, including public fatigue from pandemic-like conditions.

"And then the second thing is that ... the completely contradictory messages that we are receiving, not only the wrong information, but also the confusion about how the virus spreads."

So far, more than 6.8 million Americans have contracted coronavirus since the pandemic began, and at least 200,000 have died, according to Johns Hopkins University.

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More than 4,000 infected students and school staff in Texas

An increase in cases also comes after many students across the country returned to classes, both in schools and colleges.

Colleges and universities in all 50 states have reported infections, prompting local leaders to establish new measures in hopes of controlling the spread of the virus on college campuses and in college towns.

Infections have also increased among younger students and among those around them.

In Texas, there have been more than 4,500 positive cases of covid-19 among students and staff in the state's public schools since the new academic year began, according to data from the Texas Education Agency.

More than 2,300 of those cases are from students.

In Florida, the number of children under 18 years old who have contracted the virus has risen 26% since many of the state's public schools opened.

Experts are still studying the role that children play in transmitting the virus, but several studies have shown that they can also spread it, often as much as adults.

And a report recently released by the CDC suggests that not only can children transmit the virus, but they can do so even when they show mild symptoms or none at all.

- CNN's Shelby Lin Erdman, Holly Yan, Madeline Holcombe and Steve Almasy contributed to this report.

Anthony Fauci

Source: cnnespanol

All news articles on 2020-09-22

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