Even CNBC realized how insane the CDC’s 6-foot rule was in response to COVID. This action cost billions and its results are unknown but realistically minimal.
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The CDC began the pandemic operating on the assumption that the coronavirus transmits the way the flu does, he notes, and they never quite abandoned that assumption despite the data to the contrary gathered over the past 12 months. Six feet of distance and frequent hand-washing makes sense when you have a virus that’s borne by large droplets. Those are more likely to end up deposited on surfaces than they are to be inhaled, particularly if you’re keeping some space between yourself and the infected person. For a virus that’s borne by aerosols, distance becomes less important. Aerosols can travel beyond six feet and may linger in the air; masking is more important than hand-washing when facing a threat like that.
The CDC was operating on the wrong model of what they were dealing with at the beginning — based on a guess, not on hard science — and by the time they started to move away from it many thousands of people were already infected. We’ll never know how many contracted COVID while studiously observing the six-foot rule, believing they were safe at that distance when they weren’t.
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Dr. Gottlieb reported as follows:
“This six-foot distancing requirement has probably been the single costliest mitigation tactic that we’ve employed in response to COVID,” says @scottgottliebmd. pic.twitter.com/M5tmgj3kTY
— CNBC’s Closing Bell (@CNBCClosingBell) March 19, 2021
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Of course, the actions of the CDC over the past year have left most of America scratching their heads at various times.
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