Coronavirus 'extraordinarily widespread' in U.S. -Birx
A top U.S. health official on Sunday warned that the country is a new phase of the novel coronavirus outbreak, with infections “extraordinarily widespread” in rural areas as well as big cities.
Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus task force coordinator, told CNN’s “State of the Union”, “What we are seeing today is different from March and April. It is extraordinarily widespread... To everybody who lives in a rural area: You are not immune or protected from this virus.”
Birx said people living in multigenerational households in areas with outbreaks should wear masks inside the home to protect the elderly or those with underlying conditions.
Birx also said the Trump administration has been working on individual reports for each state examining community trends and hospital records.
But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Sunday she does not have confidence in Birx, linking her to disinformation spread by President Trump.
Pelosi told ABC’s “This Week”, "I think the president has been spreading disinformation about the virus and she is his appointee so, I don't have confidence there, no."
Birx, asked on CNN about Pelosi’s comment, said she had great respect for the Speaker and attributed the criticism to a New York Times article on the White House pandemic response that described Birx as having embraced overly optimistic assessments on the virus.
Birx added, “I’ve never been called pollyannish, or non-scientific, or non-data driven. I will stake my 40-year career on those fundamental principles of using data to implement better programs and save lives.”
The coronavirus has infected 4.6 million people in the U.S. and killed more than 155,000 Americans, according to a Reuters tally.
