Update: W.H.O. Walks Back Claim That Asymptotic Coronavirus Patients “Rarely” Spread Disease

The World Health Organization provided an update to a statement made on Monday that coronavirus patients who are asymptotic rarely spread the disease.

Breaking News: The WHO is walking back an earlier assertion that asymptomatic transmission of the coronavirus is “very rare,” saying it was a “misunderstanding.”https://t.co/cqI366MFTk
— The New York Times (@nytimes) June 9, 2020

Maria Van Kerkhove, the World Health Organization's coronavirus response head, walked back her comments on Tuesday, saying the initial comment was based off the research of just two or three studies.

“I was just responding to a question, I wasn’t stating a policy of W.H.O. or anything like that,” Van Kerkhove told the New York Times. “That’s a big open question, and that remains an open question.”

“All of the best evidence suggests that people without symptoms can and do readily spread SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19,” scientists at the Harvard Global Health Institute said in a statement on Tuesday.

The update was provided approximately 15 minutes after LSU Country posted its original story.

It was to be a key development in understanding the coronavirus.

“From the data we have, it still seems to be rare that an asymptomatic person actually transmits onward to a secondary individual,” Van Kerkhove said Monday.

One of the worries from many in the sports world is having fans in the stands and how dangerous it would be. If asymptotic patients are rarely spreading the disease, it could be another step towards potentially allowing fans in the stands at LSU games in the fall.

While there’s no firm decision on what fan participation will look like in the fall, there is optimism among LSU leaders. Athletic director Scott Woodward has said that the administration is willing to take some risks as it pertains to fan attendance.

"It's gonna be on the pandemic's schedule and we're gonna we're gonna see how this virus goes but I think we're progressing in the right way," Woodward said in a virtual town hall hosted by the Advocate last week. "I think we're gonna have things that we can do that are going to be very proactive as far as social distancing."

Temperature taking at the gates and disinfecting mists are just a few of the ideas that are being discussed. Woodward assured that the gameday operations staff is doing everything it can to make sure fans are walking into a safe environment for football.

"It's just is too early for me to tell you what the best practices are and what they look like," Woodward said. "This is all very new territory for us, but I can assure you, we're going to do it safely we're going to do it properly. We're willing to assume some risk and I think fans are getting to that. And I think football is to the point to where I think fans really want that and they'll assume that risk."