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UDY WOODRUFF: As we have been 
mentioning, the U.S. has passed 
yet another tragic marker

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in the pandemic.

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More than 200,000 
people have died in this 
country from COVID-19 and 
related complications.

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That, in a period of less than 
eight months, is nearly twice 
as many Americans who have

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been killed in every 
major conflict since 
the Korean War combined.

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Our understanding of how 
the coronavirus is spreading 
continues to evolve. We want to

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use this moment to 
clarify much of the latest 
scientific thinking.

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First, a report from Stephanie 
Sy, followed by a conversation 
with William Brangham.

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WOMAN: The coronavirus can 
remain infectious on plastic and 
steel surfaces for up to three

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days.

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WOMAN: That has many people 
worried about shopping 
and other everyday tasks.

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MAN: Because you have got to 
be putting that disinfectant 
on these groceries.

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STEPHANIE SY: This was the sound 
of fear early in the pandemic, 
after studies showed that

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the novel coronavirus 
could live on surfaces 
for hours, even days.

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It led to a furious wave 
of scrubbing, disinfecting 
and sold-out cleaning 
supplies across the

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country.

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DR. EMANUEL GOLDMAN, Rutgers New 
Jersey Medical School: But the 
problem with those experiments

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is that they didn't 
relate to what a real-life 
scenario would be like.

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STEPHANIE SY: That's Dr. Emanuel 
Goldman, a microbiologist at 
Rutgers New Jersey Medical

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School.

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In July, he published this 
article in the British medical 
journal "The Lancet" arguing

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that these early studies greatly 
exaggerated the amount of 
virus that could actually be

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found on surfaces in the 
real world. He pointed 
out that the lowest amount 
of infectious particles

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researchers used to test 
surfaces in the lab was 
10,000, a huge amount.

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DR. EMANUEL GOLDMAN: You would 
need something like 100 people 
coughing or sneezing on the

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same small surface area to get 
anywhere near the amount of 
virus that they used in these

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experiments.

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STEPHANIE SY: He says these 
mistakes, and a lack of 
scrutiny, have siphoned limited

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resources from everything from 
subway systems to schools for 
excessive deep cleaning that

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shows little evidence of 
helping prevent COVID spread.

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DR. EMANUEL GOLDMAN: Our 
mothers taught us, you go to the 
bathroom, you wash your hands.

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You prepare food, you wash 
your hands. You touch something 
dirty, you wash your hands.

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That's all you have to do.

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Normal, routine hygiene 
is sufficient to protect 
against this virus.

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STEPHANIE SY: Meanwhile, he 
adds, not enough money and 
attention have been paid to what

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we now know is the primary way 
the virus travels: the air.

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DR. EMANUEL GOLDMAN: A teacher 
from a school system saying 
they were going to shut down

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the schools one day a week for 
deep cleaning and disinfection. 
Wouldn't it be better to

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use it instead on ventilation 
systems or hiring more teachers, 
so you could have fewer students

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per class?

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DR. SHELLY MILLER, University 
of Colorado Boulder: You 
want to try to replicate the

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outside, indoors, in your space.

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STEPHANIE SY: Dr. Shelly 
Miller is an environmental 
engineer at the University 
of Colorado Boulder.

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For decades, she's studied 
the way pollutants and 
infectious diseases 
spread in indoor spaces,

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and over the summer helped her 
own university prepare for when 
students and faculty return

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to campus.

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DR. SHELLY MILLER: You 
want to control the source 
of the contaminants. 
And, in this pandemic,

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the sources are the 
infectious people inside. 
And so, to control the 
release of virus, you

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want to wear a mask, and 
you also want to be outside 
of their personal cloud.

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But some of the virus 
can potentially leak 
into the environment, 
and then you have to

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clean the environment. And 
the way to do that is the 
filtration and ventilation.

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STEPHANIE SY: The simplest 
way to do that, she says, 
open a door or window.

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But in many parts of the country 
where it's still too hot, 
or becoming too cold, to do

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that, Miller says there 
are different ways to 
increase a building's 
mechanical ventilation

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and filtration.

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Here's a basic guide: Buildings 
up to code should already 
be replacing the inside air

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with outside air three times 
an hour. But with coronavirus, 
that should be doubled,

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to six exchanges per 
hour, and, ideally, to 
nine exchanges per hour.

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And, crucially, the more 
people there are contained in 
a space, the more exchanges are

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needed. HEPA filters, which 
stands for high-efficiency 
particulate air, should 
also be added to ventilation

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systems to increase protection.

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If I walk into a restaurant 
or a classroom, is there a way 
for me to personally tell if

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that is a safe place to be, 
if there's enough ventilation?

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DR. SHELLY MILLER: 
Unfortunately, at this 
point in time, no. 
And that is why, a lot

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of times, I have been saying, 
well, we really need to address 
this. We need to give buildings

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and classrooms and other 
facilities resources, 
so they can -- so they 
can let the public

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know how they have 
attended to this.

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STEPHANIE SY: She and others 
say the Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention and the

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World Health Organization have 
been too slow to move away 
from early guidance on surface

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disinfection, and towards 
clearer guidance on preventing 
airborne transmission.

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Last Friday, the CDC did 
add language on its Web 
site about aerosols from 
coughing or breathing

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spreading the virus, and 
the need for ventilation, 
then suddenly removed it.

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DR. SHELLY MILLER: So, the only 
rule of thumb I can say is, 
if you walk into a space and

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it feels hot and stuffy in 
there, and you can smell smoke 
and you can smell different

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odors, then it's 
probably not ventilated 
enough, and you probably 
shouldn't spend very much

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time in there.

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STEPHANIE SY: Even portable 
air cleaners can help, and Dr. 
Miller and her colleagues have

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created a guide for schools 
on these, which you can 
find on our Web site.

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The bottom line: If you're 
thinking about going back to 
the gym, to a restaurant, your

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office or school, keep 
washing your hands, keep 
wearing your mask, and 
keep social distancing.

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But don't let those deep 
cleans fool you. Ask what 
they have done about the air.

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DR. EMANUEL GOLDMAN: The problem 
is that it's been out there 
for so long, and Shakespeare

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said it the best, what's done 
cannot be undone. And it's going 
to be a long time to turn the

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ship around, if ever, because 
a lot of people still are 
operating on these assumptions.

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STEPHANIE SY: For the 
"PBS NewsHour," I'm 
Stephanie Sy in Phoenix.