Eleven major cities must take “aggressive” measures to mitigate coronavirus outbreaks, Dr. Deborah Birx warned.
During a phone call Wednesday with hundreds of state and municipal officials, Birx explained that Baltimore, Cleveland, Columbus, Indianapolis, Las Vegas, Miami, Minneapolis, Nashville, New Orleans, Pittsburgh, and St. Louis were not doing enough to combat the outbreaks in your cities
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“When you first see that increase in test positivity, that’s when you start mitigation efforts,” Birx said in a recording obtained by the Center for Public Integrity. “I know it may seem small and you can say, ‘That only went from 5 to 5 ½ [percent], and we will wait and see what happens. If you wait another three or four or even five days, you will start to see a dramatic increase in cases. “
While Birx noted encouraging declines in positive test results in Sunbelt states, it warned that the virus would begin to move north.
“What started as an epidemic in the south and west is starting to move down the east coast to Tennessee, Arkansas, to Missouri, through Colorado, and we’re obviously talking about increases now in Baltimore,” Birx said. “So it is really critical that everyone follow this and make sure they are aggressive with mitigation efforts.”
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However, the IPC reported that some of the cities Birx cited as highest risk were not actually involved in the call. A Cleveland spokesman said they were not on the call, and a Baltimore health department leader said they did not know.
The warning comes a week after an article released by the CPI revealed that the White House compiled a report that 18 states were in a coronavirus “red zone”. Those states exceeded 100 positive cases out of 100,000. The IPC stated that the White House did not publicly disclose the information.
As of Friday afternoon, there were more than 4 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United States, and the virus was responsible for at least 144,552 deaths across the country.
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“This is a pandemic. You can’t hide under the rug, ”said Bill Hange, an epidemiologist at Harvard. “The best way to deal with a crisis or natural disaster is to be honest with people, earn their trust, and give the information they need to make decisions for themselves and their communities.”
