• About Us
  • Who Are We
  • Work With Us
Thursday, August 18, 2022
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Globe Post
39 °f
New York
44 ° Fri
46 ° Sat
40 ° Sun
41 ° Mon
No Result
View All Result
The Globe Post
No Result
View All Result
Home World

Global COVID-19 Deaths Top 530,000 as Scientists Urge WHO to Modify Guidelines

Alexandra Marquez by Alexandra Marquez
07/06/20
in World
COVID-19 test administered in India

A healthcare worker collects swab samples from a woman during a medical check-up in Mumbai, India. India is the third worst-hit nation by the coronavirus. Photo: Himanshu Bhatt/AFP

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

As global COVID-19 deaths topped 534,000 over the weekend, scientists from 32 countries signed a letter to the World Health Organization urging them to rethink their guidance on how the virus spreads.

The United States leads with over 130,000 deaths. Brazil is second, with nearly 65,000 deaths and Great Britain is third, with close to 44,400 deaths, according to John Hopkins University.

The US also has had more COVID-19 cases than any other nation, with over 2.9 million confirmed cases as of today. Brazil is second again, reporting over 1.6 million cases yesterday.

Russia previously held the spot for the third-largest amount of cases, but this weekend India reported an increase of 24,000 cases in 24 hours, pushing them to 697,400 total and the third spot globally, according to AFP.

Some scientists have pointed to a lack of face mask regulations in certain nations as a contributing factor to the spread. Scientists say that simply wearing face masks in public can significantly reduce the transmission of COVID-19.

Holger Schünemann, an epidemiologist at McMaster University, told NPR, “What this evidence supports is that, if there is a policy around using face masks in place, it does actually come with a fairly large effect.”

In the United States, there is no federal statute mandating that people wear masks in public. Likewise, in Brazil, President Jair Bolsonaro vetoed a plan to require people to wear masks in shops, schools, and churches.

New Evidence of Airborne Transmission

Airborne transmission of COVID-19 refers to the spread of the virus through particles smaller than five microns that can remain in the air for long periods of time.

Since the start of the pandemic, the WHO has held that airborne transmission of COVID-19 is extremely limited, and may be possible in certain medical settings where aerosols are used, though not in a setting most people encounter on a daily basis.

This weekend, however, 239 scientists from 32 countries signed a letter to the WHO urging them to rethink their guidance and acknowledge that COVID-19 can spread pervasively through these small airborne droplets.

We ask WHO to lead in stopping spread by aerosols – microscopic droplets that can be inhaled. That is why we must wear face masks, open windows, and avoid crowded indoor spaces with singing and loud talking. Thanks @kprather88 @linseymarr @UMDPublicHealth https://t.co/K80Z3YqsxE

— Don Milton (@Don_Milton) July 6, 2020

The letter, set to be released later this week, notes that these small particles can linger in a room and infect people when inhaled, even in small quantities.

The WHO has pushed back on the idea of airborne transmission of coronavirus since the start of the pandemic, and this weekend a spokesperson for the organization told the New York Times that despite the letter signed by so many experts worldwide, “There is a strong debate on this.”

ShareTweet
Alexandra Marquez

Alexandra Marquez

Follow her @amarquez60

Related Posts

US President Donald Trump
Opinion

Donald Trump Thanks You for Your Sacrifice

by Stephen J. Lyons
August 17, 2022
Marina Ovsyannikova
Media Freedom

Russian TV Journalist Faces Jail Time for Anti-Putin Protest

by Staff Writer
August 10, 2022
Ukraine nuclear plant
World

Ukraine Calls for De-Militarization of Occupied Nuclear Plant

by Staff Writer
August 8, 2022
Protesters stand with placards in front of the statue of India's independence leader Mahatma Gandhi in Parliament Square, central London, after a demonstration outside the US Embassy
Featured

Considering the Patience of Gandhi for These Troubled Times

by Stephen J. Lyons
August 5, 2022
gold bars
Business

European Union to Target Russian Gold With New Sanctions

by Staff Writer
July 15, 2022
Brittney Griner
National

Russia Says US ‘Hype’ Not Helping Arrested WNBA Player Griner

by Staff Writer
July 7, 2022
Next Post
A Syrian government flag flies above the rubble in the neighbourhood of Hajar al-Aswad near Yarmouk refugee camp on the outskirts of Damascus, Syria

Syria's War, Victims, and How Those Most Complicit Rationalize Horrors

Children wave flags of Kosovo during the 2018 anniversary of the end of its war and the withdrawal of Serbian forces

Serbia and Kosovo Agree to Resume Detente Talks

Please login to join discussion

Recommended

A demonstrator sprays paint over an upside-down portrait of Chinese leader Xi Jinping

China Use of Psychiatric Hospitals to Punish Activists ‘Widespread:’ Report

August 17, 2022
US President Donald Trump

Donald Trump Thanks You for Your Sacrifice

August 17, 2022
People carry their belonging on their heads while they walk on a flooded road following heavy rain downpour in Wawa in Ogun State southwest Nigeria

Deadly Floods Kill 50 in Northern Nigeria

August 17, 2022
Marina Ovsyannikova

Russian TV Journalist Faces Jail Time for Anti-Putin Protest

August 10, 2022
Mar-A-Lago raid

FBI Raid on Trump’s Home Ignites Political Firestorm

August 9, 2022
Ukraine nuclear plant

Ukraine Calls for De-Militarization of Occupied Nuclear Plant

August 8, 2022

Opinion

US President Donald Trump

Donald Trump Thanks You for Your Sacrifice

August 17, 2022
Protesters stand with placards in front of the statue of India's independence leader Mahatma Gandhi in Parliament Square, central London, after a demonstration outside the US Embassy

Considering the Patience of Gandhi for These Troubled Times

August 5, 2022
US President Donald Trump

Owning the Words and the Libs

June 16, 2022
Officers in Uvalde, Texas, stand outside Robb Elementary School near a makeshift memorial for the shooting victims

Child Sacrifice Makes a Comeback

June 3, 2022
A Lebanese election official stands at a polling station

New Group Threatens Lebanese Elections… and Potentially Middle East Peace

May 18, 2022
A man holding a gun

Safely Back in USA, Land of Guns and Burgers

May 2, 2022
Facebook Twitter

Newsletter

Do you like our reporting?
SUBSCRIBE

About Us

The Globe Post

The Globe Post is part of Globe Post Media, a U.S. digital news organization that is publishing the world's best targeted news sites.

submit oped

© 2018 The Globe Post

No Result
View All Result
  • National
  • World
  • Business
  • Interviews
  • Lifestyle
  • Democracy at Risk
    • Media Freedom
  • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Columns
    • Book Reviews
    • Stage
  • Submit Op-ed

© 2018 The Globe Post