Delta Backtracks After Calling COVID “Seasonal Virus”

NPR reports:

Delta Airlines has updated its announcement about the end of the federal mask mandate after igniting a firestorm of criticism from public health experts who said it used inaccurate and misleading language to describe COVID-19. “We are relieved to see the U.S. mask mandate lift to facilitate global travel as COVID-19 has transitioned to an ordinary seasonal virus,” the airline said in the original version of its Monday statement.

Passengers, medical experts and public health leaders promptly turned to social media to dispute the claim and call out the lack of scientific evidence behind it. The updated paragraph reads: “We are relieved to see the U.S. mask mandate lift to facilitate global travel as COVID-19 transitions to a more manageable respiratory virus — with better treatments, vaccines and other scientific measures to prevent serious illness.”

Read the full article.

I mean, I guess if “seasonal” means “occurring in every season,” then yeah, covid is seasonal pic.twitter.com/RdJ4XxlQuK

— Maggie Astor (@MaggieAstor) April 19, 2022

Delta Air Lines edits mask mandate statement after calling COVID ‘ordinary seasonal virus’
https://t.co/n3q3SR3dh0

— Fox News (@FoxNews) April 19, 2022

Delta ignited a firestorm of criticism after calling COVID-19 an “ordinary seasonal virus” in its statement announcing the end of its mask mandate.

The airline has since updated its statement.https://t.co/i3PLn6vBlQ

— NPR (@NPR) April 19, 2022