People infected with COVID-19 are often “silent spreaders,” able to infect others with the virus while showing no symptoms of illness themselves. The symptoms of COVID-19 often do not appear for several days in a newly infected person, but it is during this pre-symptomatic period that the person is most contagious. Because of this, public health experts are finding coronavirus especially hard to contain. Listen to an epidemiology professor describe the challenges of containing a virus that spreads silently, and which strategies have been proven to work best.
Story Length: 3:54
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July 27, 2020
3:32
Early in the coronavirus pandemic, public health experts urged people to wear masks to protect others from getting sick. Now, scientists are finding that masks protect the wearer, too. Wearing a mask can block virus particles from entering a person’s body, and even if some particles enter, the mask wearer is less likely to become seriously ill. Listen to an infectious disease doctor explain the science behind mask wearing and how this new information could encourage more people to cover their faces in public.
Read MoreJuly 22, 2020
6:47
School leaders across the country are grappling with questions of when and how to reopen schools safely. While there is a shared interest nationwide in kids returning to school buildings, the virus is still widespread in communities across the country. Although kids are less likely to suffer from COVID-19, they may carry the germ back to their families and communities. The CDC’s safety recommendations are challenging for many schools to follow without additional space, staff, and supplies. Listen to school leaders throughout the U.S. discuss their hopes, priorities, and fears as they decide what school will look like in the fall.
This audio story was recorded in mid-July. The news about COVID-19 is changing rapidly and parts of this story may be dated.
Read MoreJuly 1, 2020
3:35
As states reopen and coronavirus infection rates begin to rise, public health officials are monitoring the spread of disease. The “R,” or reproduction number, indicates how many people a sick person is likely to infect. An R of two, meaning every sick person infects two other people, translates into exponential spread in the community, and the goal of safety measures is to lower the R to less than one. Listen to learn which states currently have surging infection rates and how small changes in the reproduction number can mean big changes in the rate of illness.
This audio story was recorded in mid-June. The news about COVID-19 is changing rapidly and parts of this story may be dated.
Read MoreMarch 30, 2020
4:51
Countries that have extensively tested their populations for the COVID-19 virus have generally succeeded in containing the outbreak. Now debate has begun in the U.S. over how much testing makes sense in this country. Although many medical experts say aggressive testing would help to slow the spread of the disease, production of test kits has not kept up with demand. Listen to hear a public health expert explain why he believes testing is important for controlling the spread of COVID-19 and when he expects enough test kits to become available.
This audio story was recorded in mid-March. The news about COVID-19 is changing rapidly and parts of this story may be dated.
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