The commission became worried after President Donald Trump and several White House staff contracted Covid-19 shortly after last Tuesday's presidential debate. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Pence was not in "close contact" withNonetheless, a person familiar with the debate planning told NBC News that Harris' campaign asked for the plexiglass to be used at the event at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City.
The plexiglass barriers are just one "part of the CPD's overall approach to health and safety," according to a fact sheet distributed by the commission. "But they're not addressing things like ventilation," Siegel said, adding that he hopes the debate hall has appropriately up-to-date air filtration and ventilation systems. "If I was Vice President Pence's staff or Harris' staff, I would certainly want to get a portable HEPA filter in there."
Prather explained that the risk of airborne spread is due to virus-carrying aerosols, very small particles that can remain suspended in the air and even travel by currents. The CDC maintains that most transmission occurs through larger respiratory droplets, but Prather has long warned of the risk of aerosol spread.