US scans cut recommended social distancing by half, one meter

The senior United States pandemic adviser said on Sunday that authorities are studying the possibility of lowering social distancing rules to one meter, a measure that would change a key principle in the global fight against Covid-19.

Anthony Fauci, a globally respected figure during the coronavirus crisis, said that los experts de los Centros de Control de Enfermedades (CDC) estaban examinando an estudio de Massachusetts that no encontró “ninguna diferencia sustancial” en los cases de COVID en las escuelas que observaban las reglas de seis pies (casi dos metros) y tres pies ( a meter).

Interviewed in the “State of the Union” program of CNN If that meant that a one-meter separation was sufficient, Fauci replied, “Indeed it is.”

Although he warned that the CDC is still studying the new data and performing its own tests, he said that their conclusions would come “soon”.

The two-meter social distancing rule has been a widely adopted measure around the world to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, as well as the use of face masks and hand washing.

Policies to reopen schools and businesses have varied widely in the United States and around the world, with governments trying to balance suppressing infections and returning to normal life.

The study conducted by Massachusetts Beth Deaconess Medical Center, in which 251 school districts were surveyed, found “no substantial difference in the number of Covid-19 cases among students or staff” between schools that complied standards. wore face masks.

The findings, published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases, add to a growing body of evidence that COVID-19 transmission rates are low in schools.

In another potentially significant finding, the researchers found that COVID-19 rates were lower in schools that practiced the use of masks than in the surrounding towns and villages.

A three-foot rule would have a huge impact on the prospects of fully reopening schools, offices and even public spaces, such as sports venues.

As school officials in Penfield (New York) wrote in the magazine Education week, “The biggest obstacle to fully reopening schools is the two-meter distance requirement.”

School officials around the world are under tremendous pressure to fully reopen safely as soon as possible, but many say the two-meter requirement makes it extremely difficult without adding portable classrooms or shortening the school day. Many teachers’ unions have also insisted on the distance of two meters.

Ask the republicans

The Fauci also called on Republican voters to overcome their aversion to the vaccine to facilitate the vaccination campaign and contain the disease.

Republicans are the vast majority of the population skeptical of the vaccine’s effectiveness in the United States, and Fauci himself has shown his dismay about it. “I just do not get it. We must dissociate political persuasion from basic sanitary measures of common senseHe told NBC.

A PBS News Hour / NPR / Marist poll released Thursday showed that the 41% of people who identify as Republicans, including 49% of Republican-leaning men, said they did not intend to receive any of the three federally approved coronavirus vaccines. Among Democrat-leaning men, only 6% said the same.

Likewise, Fauci called for calm despite the drop in cases in the United States in recent days. “If you’re going to score a touchdown (goal),” he explained through an American football comparison, “you have to get to the end area. And we’re not there yet“.

The United States is on track to hit the lowest level of infection since early October, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg. The average number of daily cases for the past week fell 15 percent from the previous week, continuing a decline that began in January.

(With information from AFP and Europa Press)

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