U.S. coronavirus 'extraordinarily widespread,' White House experts say

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-usa/u-s-coronavirus-extraordinarily-widespread-white-house-experts-say-idUSKBN24Y0NI

Doina Chiacu
August 2, 2020


The United States is in a new phase of the novel coronavirus outbreak with infections “extraordinarily widespread” in rural areas as well as cities, White House coronavirus experts said on Sunday.

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“We are in a new phase,” said Dr. Deborah Birx. “What we are seeing today is different from March and April. It is extraordinarily widespread” in rural as well as urban areas.

“To everybody who lives in a rural area: You are not immune or protected from this virus,” Birx said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

Birx, the White House task force coordinator, said people living in multigenerational households in an area that is experiencing an outbreak should wear masks inside the home to protect the elderly or those with underlying conditions.

Admiral Brett Giroir, an assistant Health and Human Services secretary, continued to stress the importance of wearing masks.

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If people wear masks and avoid crowds, Giroir said, it gives the same outcome as a complete shutdown.

“That’s why we’re going to all the states, we’re on local radio, we give specific instructions to every governor by county, what they need to do when we start – when those counties start tipping yellow, because that’s the time when you have to stamp it down,” he said.