Updated: July 17, 2020

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Key Points

• Today, we explore and breakdown the CDC’s most recent MMWR, Absence of Apparent Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from Two Stylists After Exposure at a Hair Salon with a Universal Face Covering Policy — Springfield, Missouri, May 2020. Read more below and in our Recommendations for Industry here.

• The FDA updated its Frequently Asked Questions on Testing for SARS-CoV-2 list. It includes a list of laboratories that have been removed from its index. See their FAQ & list here.

• The FDA is preparing to resume domestic inspections with a new risk assessment system. Read more from the FDA here.

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ICYMI (Mask Week + More)

• This week, the global count of COVID-19 cases has risen above 13 million; global deaths have exceeded 590,000.

• In Wednesday’s Recommendations for Industry, we provide an update on the Weekly Risk Matrix to see what has changed over the past week. Read more here.

  • As part of the Q&A for Recommendations for Industry, last Wednesday, we discussed the most recent discussions around travel and quarantining for Essential travel. Read more here. 

• As many states are requiring mask usage (and many individuals may or may not comply on a personal level), for fear of sounding like a broken record, we revisited the basics of mask usage in last Friday’s Recommendations for Industry.

• Last Friday, we discussed some “Truths of Masks” from O2/CO2 values, asymptomatic spread, and protective measures. Read more here.

• On Monday, we discussed some of the questions we have received about masks, including “Should I wear a mask when I’m alone in the car?” to  “Employees wear masks at work, but when they’re at parties or get-togethers, they remove their masks and stand very close to one another; why is that?” Read more here.

• Behavior change is difficult. Individuals may not wear masks (or socially distance) in certain situations due to optimism bias. Optimism bias occurs when someone believes that negative things are less likely to happen to them; people believe that positive events are more likely to happen and underestimate the probability of negative/adverse events happening to them (Sharot, 2011). We see optimism bias relative to food safety (e.g., people don’t believe they are likely to acquire foodborne illness from their own food preparations) and also with COVID-19 (e.g., people think they're unlikely to become ill because they may not have preconditions or may not be in a specific age range). Optimism bias can be dangerous.  

• Up until Wednesday (July 15), COVID-19 data from hospitals were reported to the CDC. The White House now mandates that all COVID-19 data be sent directly to the Department of Health and Human Services, instead of the CDC. Read more here or here.

• The new MMRW discusses the “Absence of Apparent Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from Two Stylists After Exposure at a Hair Salon with a Universal Face Covering Policy — Springfield, Missouri, May 2020”. We discuss this further today.

• A recent study published in The Lancet of SARS-CoV-2 in Spain has found that “the majority of the Spanish population is seronegative to SARS-CoV-2 infection, even in hotspot areas. Most PCR-confirmed cases have detectable antibodies, but a substantial proportion of people with symptoms compatible with COVID-19 did not have a PCR test. Additionally, at least a third of infections determined by serology were asymptomatic. These results emphasize the need for maintaining public health measures to avoid a new epidemic wave.” Read the paper here.

• There has been an increase in what is known as “COVID parties” where individuals gather at a party at which at least one individual attending has been tested/confirmed with COVID to see if anyone gets sick and/or to test if the virus really exists. There have been cases in which individuals (who had not believed in the severity of COVID-19) have fallen ill and died after attending a “COVID party.”.

• The New York Times has put together a full timeline of the COVID-19 epidemic. Read more here.

• Please be wary of the hand sanitizing products you are buying. There is an increasing number of illegal hand sanitizer products that, instead of containing ethanol, are being adultered with methanol (or wood alcohol). Refer to FDA’s list of recalled brands/products that contain methanol. AVOID THESE PRODUCTS!  Methanol is a toxic compound when absorbed through the skin and can be life-threatening if ingested. It is not supposed to be in hand sanitizers.