is effective."

Madad: That is completely false.

We used to think that.

Morse: "All schools should reopen

because kids can't get COVID-19."

We used to think that.

But now we know it's not true.

Hi, I'm Stephen Morse,

professor of epidemiology.

My name is Dr. Syra Madad,

and I'm an infectious disease epidemiologist

here in New York City.

Morse: In the past, we have debunked a number of myths.

But new myths keep coming up,

and the same old ones keep coming back.

So let's get to work debunking more myths today.

Madad: "Wearing a mask doesn't do anything."

Morse: And there are people who believe that.

And one reason is that until recently,

we weren't really recommending masks

because we didn't know that they actually do a lot of good.

There's a recent study from Hong Kong

that was published in Nature

that proves that even surgical masks

can prevent infected people

from passing on the infection to others.

Madad: We have seen that in states

that didn't have a mask mandate,

once they had that mask mandate,

over a period of time, you did see

the number of cases go down.

So it's important to continue to wash your hands

and keep your distance while also wearing a mask.

Morse: "Wearing a mask is dangerous

because you'll get carbon dioxide poisoning."

But it takes a lot of carbon dioxide to do it,

and all of that actually

goes through the mask quite readily.

So it doesn't build up in the mask.

And we know that even when people are wearing masks,

their oxygen levels in the blood

are perfectly normal if they're not sick.

So part of it is really getting used to it,

the way we get used to wearing a necktie, for example.

Madad: Looking at those healthcare workers

that do wear it for an extended period of time,

that's a great model to show you

that it does not cause carbon dioxide poisoning or toxicity.

Morse: "All schools should reopen

because kids can't get COVID-19."

Once the schools reopen,

we're gonna see a situation

where there are a lot of kids together

and the possibility of transmission becomes much greater.

Madad: And on top of that, it's not also just the kids,

it's also the teachers and the adults

that are in these schools

that are also at risk.

And so we wanna protect everybody.

There are countries in Asia

that have reopened schools successfully

and have been able to remain open.

They started off with having low number of cases,

and they also had contingency plans in place

where you have smaller classroom sizes,

children sitting further apart, wearing masks.

You also have countries that have shown

that they opened schools too early,

and then they had to close down multiple times.

And so we wanna make sure we're in a position

that we have the upper hand

when it comes to this virus.

"Asymptomatic people aren't contagious."

Morse: Asymptomatic people, people who feel

and look perfectly well,

are contagious to others.

And we worry about them

because they may not know what they're spreading.

Madad: In fact, during the early days,

that is when you are most infectious.

Morse: The reality is we have to assume

that anyone who could have it,

indeed could have it,

and they could pass it on to others.

This is why we're making recommendations

that everybody should wear a mask,

even if they're feeling well,

because we don't know and they themselves may not know

that they could be infected

and able to infect others.

Madad: "Young, healthy people won't die from COVID-19."

We have seen cases where you have individuals

that have no medical condition

still unfortunately die from COVID-19.

Morse: It may be a very small proportion,

but when you have a very large number of infected people,

those numbers add up very quickly.

Madad: We are seeing, based on certain data

that is coming out, is that even with young people,

if they don't have a severe case of COVID-19,

they are at increased risk, for example,

of strokes and other types of ailments.

And so looking at the death rate in the young

is a false sense of security.

Morse: "You cannot get COVID-19 twice."

Madad: We still don't know

what long-term immunity looks like,

and so in the immediate future,

can you get reinfected with COVID-19

in a short period of time?

The likelihood is no.

Individuals that have been tested positive again

for COVID-19 likely just have residual virus

in their body or in their bodily fluids.

But in terms of long term,

can you get COVID-19 a year after or two years after?

That is something that we still don't know yet,

and it's one of those things that time will tell.

Morse: If you get it again, will it be less bad,

will it be worse, will it be the same?

We don't know.

Madad: "You won't get the virus if you hold your breath

when someone sneezes or coughs."

But what we know about these virus particles

is that they can still land on your mucus membrane

even if you're not breathing.

So, for example, if you're touching a high-touch surface

and then you're touching your mucus membrane,

you obviously are able to transmit the virus

through that indirect means, if you will.

Morse: So, we have alternatives.

We have masks, we have good hand hygiene,

and social distancing

to make sure that you won't be in the line of fire

when somebody coughs or sneezes.

That's a lot safer than holding your breath.

Madad: "Consuming disinfectants will kill the virus."

Bleach and other types of disinfectants

are not to be used for ingesting

or injecting or to put on skin.

These are corrosive chemicals.

They can actually cause death and disability.

Morse: Use it on your floors. Use it on your countertops.

That's where it really does the work,

and that's what really helps.

"Cleaning your fruits and vegetables

with bleach is effective."

Madad: That is completely false.

If you're going to be putting chemicals

on fruit and vegetables that you are then going to ingest,

you're putting yourself more in harm's way.

So, washing your fruit and vegetables

is very similar to how you were washing your fruit

and vegetables before COVID-19 existed.

Washing it under water and making sure

that you're cleaning any fruit and vegetable.

These are just basic good practices.

'Cause it's not just COVID-19

that obviously you wanna make sure

that you are preventing,

but it's also all the other microbes

that can cause illnesses.

"Warm weather will stop the coronavirus."

Morse: Well, here we are at the end of July,

and if anyone still believes that myth,

I think we have plenty of proof.

Madad: There's an epidemiological potential significance

to warmer weather because people are going outside,

but in terms of the weather itself

and the effect on the virus,

it has not shown to have impact.

Morse: So, until we find something like a vaccine

that's effective or something else

that's going to stop it,

this virus, given the opportunity to infect,

will continue to infect.

"99% of cases aren't dangerous."

Yes, it is true that probably

only about 1%

of those people who get infected

and get sick are going to die,

but many of the others will get very sick,

and some of the others will get so sick

that they may be affected for life.

Madad: Our indicator should not be the death rate,

because you can have individuals

that may have survived the infection of COVID-19

but then go on to suffer a stroke

because of the long-term effects of COVID-19.

Morse: So a lot of these cases really are dangerous.

Madad: "The United States has one

of the lowest mortality rates."

Taking the mortality at its face value

is a huge disservice

because it's not painting the full picture

in terms of the whole effect

that COVID-19 has on an individual.

Morse: Unfortunately, when you think about

the entire population on mortality rate,

it's actually unbelievably high.

We don't really want to measure this

by the number of people

who get saved at the last minute.

What we wanna aim for is really a low infection rate,

because the infection is gonna be there.

Mortality rate proves you're just getting better

at treating the severe cases.

Madad: "5G technology is spreading COVID-19."

COVID-19 is spread by respiratory droplets

when somebody coughs, sneezes, or talks.

5G towers and technology do not have an influence

on your ability to get infected with COVID-19.

Morse: The reality is the two are totally unrelated.

You can spread computer viruses

through technology on the internet,

but real viruses requires human contact.

"The media is blowing the pandemic out of proportion."

I really wish this were true.

And I think it depends a lot

on which media you're listening to.

By talking about conspiracy theories

and "no big deal," to say that it's all a hoax,

these things help the virus.

The virus doesn't care.

The reality is it's here, it's real,

it will infect given the opportunity.

Madad: It is science, and it is evidence,

and it is public health that will save lives.

It's not politicians, it's not conspiracy theories,

it's not misinformation.

And as we continue to learn together,

the public-health guidance will change,

because we wanna go with what we know to be effective

in terms of keeping everybody safe.

Morse: Stay safe, stay well, and...

Madad: Stay tuned and stay informed,

and that's very important.