THE INTENSIFIED REPORT

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has warned that COVID-19 could spread through airborne particles that can remain suspended in the air and travel beyond six feet. The agency previously said the virus mainly spreads from person to person through respiratory droplets when a sick person coughs, sneezes or talks. The updated guidance, posted on the agency's website on Friday, also recommended that people use air purifiers to reduce airborne germs indoors to avoid the disease from spreading. Airborne viruses are among the most contagious, and the CDC warned that poorly-ventilated places increase the risk of spreading. Studies have shown that the new coronavirus could spread through aerosols in the air, and the World Health Organization has said it is monitoring "emerging evidence" of possible airborne transmission. Reuters

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US President Donald Trump threatened to permanently freeze US funding to the World Health Organization (WHO) unless "substantive improvements" were made within the next 30 days. Washington suspended payments to the WHO in mid-April, accusing it of being too close to Beijing and covering up and mismanaging the coronavirus pandemic. On Monday, Mr Trump tweeted images of a letter he sent to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, saying the letter was "self-explanatory." In the letter, Mr Trump lists what he says are examples of the WHO's shortcomings in managing the pandemic, including ignoring early reports of the emergence of the virus, and being too close to China. "It is clear the repeated missteps by you and your organization in responding to the pandemic have been extremely costly for the world. The only way forward for the World Health Organization is if it can actually demonstrate independence from China," Mr Trump said in th