New York, April 4 (RHC)-- New York City has joined Los Angeles in recommending that all residents wear masks or otherwise cover their faces while in public.  This comes as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected to reverse its long-standing advice that members of the general public should not wear nonmedical masks when leaving the home. 

Meanwhile, the Food and Drug Administration has lifted a ban on imports of Chinese-made KN95 respirator masks amid a severe shortage of medical-grade N95 masks.

National Academy of Sciences warns coronavirus might be spread by talking, breathing

Washington, April 4 (RHC)-- The National Academy of Sciences warns the coronavirus appears to be able to spread through aerosolized droplets.  The finding could invalidate a CDC recommendation that people who stand six feet apart are protected from the virus, with research suggesting that infected people can spread the virus simply by talking or breathing.  

In related news, the Food and Drug Administration has approved a test that screens for antibodies in the blood of people who’ve recovered from exposure to the novel coronavirus.  This comes as hospitals in New York City and in Houston, Texas, have begun experimental convalescent serum therapy for critically ill COVID-19 patients.  The procedure involves harvesting antibodies from the blood of people whose immune systems have beaten the disease.