The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday quietly changed its coronavirus official guidance to note that coronavirus droplets, or “aerosols,” can stay in the air far longer than previously thought and across more than just six feet.

“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).”

This would be a revelation to many, who have relied on CDC guidance urging people to social distance, which it has consistently defined as staying six feet apart.

Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital physician Abraar Karan, who is working on Massachusetts’ COVID-19 respoinse, calls the CDC update “a significant shift.”

But the CDC also effectively loosened its guidance, suggestion to stay “at least 6 feet away from others, whenever possible.”

Under the “Protect yourself and others” section, the previous version, up until sometime on Friday, read: “Maintain good social distance (about 6 feet). This is very important in preventing the spread of COVID-19.”

Now it states:

Stay at least 6 feet away from others, whenever possible. This is very important in preventing the spread of COVID-19.

Joe Lockhart, a CNN political analyst and former Clinton White House press secretary, took to Twitter to blast the administration.

“Actually seven months after @realDonaldTrump told Bob Woodward,” about just how deadly coronavirus is, and that it spread through the air, he wrote. “This is criminal and people need to go to prison for this.”

To be clear, President Trump knew.

“This is deadly stuff,” he told the Washington Post’s Bob Woodward, on tape. “You just breathe the air, and that’s how it’s passed.”

This article has been updated to remove the word “far” from distance classifications as the CDC did not state specifically how much farther than six feet coronavirus aerosols can travel. 

Former Democratic U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill railed against President Donald Trump Wednesday in the wake of the bombshell revelations he knew exactly how deadly the coronavirus was as far back as January but downplayed it. Those revelations are on tape, in interviews with legendary Watergate reporter Bob Woodward.

“So many times this president and his minions have used that podium to lie to the American people and to kill them, to kill them,” the Democrat from Missouri said on MSNBC. “He has killed people with his lies and for him to come out there with a straight face today and say he didn’t want to panic anyone.”

McCaskill is referring to Trump’s press conference earlier Wednesday, during which he admitted to downplaying the coronavirus and defended lying to the American people about just how deadly it is by calling it “leadership.”

“I don’t want people to be frightened,” Trump told reporters, saying he didn’t “want to create panic” and therefore was not only dishonest about the dangers but daily denied them.

“He is running a campaign based on fear and panic. All he campaigns on is that the suburbs have to be scared to death of Black people moving in, or that they have to be scared to death of riots in the city, that there’s carnage on the streets. He is all about fear in his campaign. The only reason he lied to the American people is he wanted to protect the stock market, and his re-election,” McCaskill charged.

“He could have cared less that he was killing people in this country, because he doesn’t mind panicking people, he doesn’t mind striking fear in their hearts. He does it every day in his campaign. So, this is just enough is enough. I don’t know what these people out there that are holding on to this guy see, .”

Watch:

“He has killed people with his lies and for him to come out there with a straight face today and say he didn’t want to panic anyone, he is running a campaign based on fear and panic… The only reason he lied to the American people is that he wanted to protect the stock market..” pic.twitter.com/tJaeEHdXsN

— Acyn Torabi (@Acyn) September 9, 2020

UPDATE –
More.

“Hours and hours of tapes! So this President is the stupidest President that has ever held the office” pic.twitter.com/dpjInAN8Xp

— Acyn Torabi (@Acyn) September 9, 2020