Vice President Mike Pence told the nation’s governors on Monday that the country is in a better place than it was two months ago, but that it would not minimize developments in the solar belt, which has seen a sharp increase in COVID-19 cases. . This week, he and Dr. Deborah Birx, coordinator of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, will travel to Arizona, now an epicenter of COVID infections.
Birx, who called from New Mexico, called Texas and Arizona “critical hotspots” with increasing positivity in New Mexico. She said authorities are monitoring slow increases in Ohio, Madison, Wisconsin and Knoxville, Tennessee. “We would like to work with those mayors and governors to really implement some new testing techniques … to really assess large populations at the community level,” said Birx.
“Although our mortality continues to decrease week after week, we believe that this week will stabilize, with the potential to rise again if we do not intervene comprehensively now,” he added.
As noted, Birx noted that many of the cases involve people under the age of 40. Dr. Anthony Fauci said the message for young people should be that they are part of a dynamic to prevent the re-emergence of the coronavirus.
He added: “We do not want to close again. We want the public health process to be the vehicle for opening, not the obstacle to opening.”
Fauci attributed the increase in cases in Texas to Memorial Day celebrations, which did not show an immediate jump in cases, causing Texans to relax too much in their behavior. The fact that a week passes without visible consequences, Fauci warned, “does not mean that there will be no consequences.”
Arizona Governor Doug Ducey shared that sentiment. He said Arizona had delayed its cases “to a crawl” in mid-May, but once the state began reopening, it began to see an increase in cases. He told Pence that Arizona numbers began to increase in early June.
Utah Governor Gary Herbert suggested to Pence that President Trump and Pence could “help” us by recommending to Americans that it is “best practice” to wear masks to curb the spread of COVID-19. Pence replied, “We were in Texas yesterday and made it very clear that people should wear a mask whenever state and local authorities indicate that social distancing is appropriate or when it is not possible. I promise it will be a very consistent message. .. “
Maryland Governor Larry Hogan pleaded with Pence to seek a compromise in Congress on a new coronavirus relief bill. Hogan said states will need an additional $ 500 billion or that governors will be forced to take “drastic” measures that could lead to millions of job cuts.
Pence said the president favors another relief bill and will be “considered” in Congress in mid-July. Pence added that the president would also like to see a payroll tax cut and encouraged governors to advocate for that as well.
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