Pedestrians wear face coverings and protective masks as they cross Mains street, Monday, June 8, 2020, in the Flushing section of the Queens borough of New York. After three bleak months, New York City will try to turn a page when it begins reopening Monday after getting hit first by the coronavirus, then an outpouring of rage over racism and police brutality. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
A top World Health Organization expert has tried to clear up “misunderstandings” about comments she made that were widely understood to suggest that people without COVID-19 symptoms rarely transmit the coronavirus.
Maria Van Kerkhove, the UN health agency's technical lead on the virus pandemic, insisted Tuesday that she was referring only to a few studies, not a complete picture, in the comments she made Monday.
Van Kerkhove's remarks on Monday raised confusion and questions among outside experts and health officials who have recommended and in some places required that people wear masks to try to prevent the virus from spreading.
The “clarification” she provided during a WHO social-media chat showed many questions remain about whether infected people who don’t show symptoms of illness such as fever, dry cough or difficulty breathing can transmit the virus to others.
Van Kerkhove said: “What I was referring to yesterday were very few studies, some two or three studies that have been published, that actually try to follow asymptomatic cases.”
“That’s a very small subset of studies,” she continued. “I used the phrase ‘very rare,’ and I think that that’s (a) misunderstanding to state that asymptomatic transmission globally is very rare. What I was referring to was a subset of studies.”
Jackie Siegel, best known for her 2012 documentary 'The Queen of Versailles,' joined Cheddar News to reflect on the death of her daughter due to a drug overdose. She also discussed how she's using her platform to advocate for awareness of overdoses and to help with prevention.
A Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department deputy died after he was shot in his patrol car Saturday evening by an unknown assailant, and an investigation is underway that the sheriff said will press all of the department’s resources into action.
Jann Wenner, who co-founded Rolling Stone magazine and also was a co-founder of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, has been removed from the hall's board of directors after making comments that were seen as disparaging toward Black and female musicians. He apologized within hours.
Three British news organizations reported Saturday that comedian and social influencer Russell Brand has been accused of rape, sexual assault and abuse based on allegations from four women who knew him over a seven-year period at the height of his fame.
