WASHINGTON D.C., DC — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has removed an update from its website which acknowledged that there was "growing evidence" that coronavirus is often spreads through aerosols.
The CDC posted Monday that it is "currently updating its recommendations regarding airborne transmission" of COVID-19 and that once the update is complete the official info will be posted. The agency said that a "draft version of proposed changes" was "posted in error" initially.
Over the weekend, the website said COVID-19 most commonly spreads between people in close contact with each other. The agency added that the virus is known to spread "through respiratory droplets or small particles, such as those in aerosols, produced when an infected person coughs, sneezes, sings, talks or breathes."
Before the updated language was removed on Monday, it stated that, "Airborne viruses, including COVID-19, are among the most contagious and easily spread."
"There is growing evidence that droplets and airborne particles can remain suspended in the air and be breathed in by others, and travel distances beyond 6 feet (for example, during choir practice, in restaurants, or in fitness classes)," the page stated over the weekend. "In general, indoor environments without good ventilation increase this risk."
In April, a panel of top scientists penned a letter to the White House which said that research has shown the coronavirus can spread by talking or even just breathing, and not just by sneezing and coughing.