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The U.S. has reached a milestone of five million COVID-19 infections, the highest number of any country in the world. New data shows that children have caught the virus in larger numbers than previously expected, raising questions about the safety of reopening schools. Health care professionals say more widespread testing with quick results is needed to contain the virus. Listen to learn more about the current state of the pandemic in the U.S. and what one official says is fueling the spread of the virus.
This audio story was recorded in mid-August. The news about COVID-19 is changing rapidly and parts of this story may be dated.
Story Length: 5:50
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August 10, 2020
4:25
As the COVID-19 pandemic worsens in the U.S., experts are saying that traditional ways of fighting it are no longer working. U.S. public health professionals pioneered the methods that have successfully contained past pandemics, but coronavirus has spread so widely and quickly in the U.S. that experts say these steps will no longer be effective at containing it. Listen to learn why an infectious disease doctor describes the pandemic as “a national forest fire of COVID” and what public health professionals recommend for next steps.
Read MoreAugust 5, 2020
3:54
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.
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 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 More