University officials have confirmed that some outbreaks of the virus on campus include the new, highly contagious COVID-19 B.1.1.7 variant. Testing offered to the local community is limited to those living within three blocks from campus. If you do not live right next to campus but would like to be tested, visit Washtenaw County’s COVID testing website to find a free clinic near you. AdAdditionally, free testing is now offered weekly at Pioneer High School. The university-run saliva-based testing will be offered to U-M students, faculty, staff and Ann Arbor residents living geographically close to the university on the following days and times:Information on U-M's community testing program from Feb. 3-28, 2021.

In spite of the CDC warnings, a lot of people are planning to see family on Thanksgiving. Because coronavirus can be spread while someone is asymptomatic or presymptomatic, there’s no way to know if your family is being infected. After months of carefully following COVID-19 restrictions, the family gathered for a birthday party. Those infected spread the virus to three other relatives who didn’t attend the party. By staying apart, we can fight this virus together.”The family does not have plans to gather for Thanksgiving.

White House Coronavirus Task Force coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx said the amount of asymptomatic spread is large. “When you start to look at this college data, it may be up to 80% of individuals under 30 are asymptomatic," Birx said. "And we’re still getting the data from all of the colleges.”The CDC said understanding and tracking positive test rates by age group could help public health officials identify future hotspots and better prevent and prepare for a rise in COVID-19 cases. “The way you find that is the way the universities are finding it -- regular testing," Birx said. "If you wait until people have symptoms, you’ve waited too long because there’s so much asymptomatic spread before that.”As temperatures get cooler, health officials are reminding everyone to keep wearing masks, social distancing and washing their hands.

In the statement WHO noted it appears to be rare that an asymptomatic person transmits the virus. In the truly asymptomatic, symptoms will never develop, and the only way to identify these people is by testing. Circling back to the WHO clarification issued Tuesday, its 16 percent estimate of asymptomatic spread appears to refer specifically to people who are truly asymptomatic. Notably the CDC, in its guidance for developing COVID-19 pandemic models used an estimate of 35 percent of asymptomatic spread and a study published on June 3 in the Annals of Internal Medicine analyzed 16 other reports of asymptomatic spread and estimated it to be as high as 40 to 45 percent, although they could not completely assess what percentage might have been presymptomatic spread. In terms of whether these differences in asymptomatic versus presymptomatic spread change anything right now the answer is simple.