CDC Warns of Aerosolized COVID-19 Transmission for First Time

[Ms. Toad]

20. Late to the game is completely accurate -

You are right as to the reason they are late to the game. But it it doesn't alter the FACT that they are more than a year late to the game. The reality is that we had a science denier in control of things, who caused a lot of harm. As indicated by the person to whom you responded - who is connecting this announcement to the mutations - we risk spreading more misinformation/misimpressions when we ignore the fact that this was known for more than a year.

As to masks being an implicit acknowledgment - not really. Once the government started pushing masks, they were frequently pushed in connection with the 6' (theoretical) distance limitation for droplets. The phrase that gives this away is the number of times government officials used the phrase, "Wear a mask when you can't stay 6' apart," which was premised on the theoretical distance that droplets (not aerosolized matter) could travel. I spent a lot of time yelling at the computer screen whenever Trump & Co. uttered that phrase.

Six feet is not protection for aerosolized matter, which lingers in the air (so the person who expelled it could be well more than 6' down the road when you encounter it) and which are also much more efficient at traveling a long distance on air currents.