White House backs down: America won’t be able to control the pandemic after all



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The White House admitted on Sunday that the United States will not be able to control the pandemic because it is very contagious, in a change of position to minimize the severity of the crisis, at a time when there are new records of infections.

“We are not going to control the pandemic, we are going to control the fact that we can get vaccines, therapies and other ways to mitigate it,” said Mark Meadows, chief of staff to US President Donald Trump, during an interview with CNN.

When asked why he said it was not possible to control the covid-19 pandemic, Meadows replied: “Because it is a very contagious virus, like the flu,” adding that the White House is trying to contain it.

His comments come a day after Trump insisted that the United States is “turning the page” on the pandemic and that the data on the incidence in the country are incredible, considering that the increase in the number of cases is not something that causes alarm. . .

On Friday, the United States registered a daily record of new COVID-19 infections, with more than 85,000 in just 24 hours, and on Saturday it almost touched that mark, with 83,178, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

Almost 8.6 million Americans have been infected with the new coronavirus since the beginning of the pandemic, and it is expected that this Sunday the barrier of 225 thousand deaths from this infection will be surpassed, more than in any other country.

The new increase in cases in the United States mainly affects the West and states that cross the Rocky Mountains, including some territories that will be key in the November 3 elections, such as Wisconsin and Ohio.

Trump attributed this rise on Saturday to the amount of tests that are being carried out in the country and considered it “stupid” that so many tests are carried out on COVID-19, because that “gives the media something to talk about” before the elections .

Experts disagree with Trump’s argument that cases go up simply because more tests are done: This logic does not take into account the fact that the percentage of tests that are positive has increased by more than one percentage point since the beginning. October, at 5.8% today.

The increase in cases coincides with a new covid-19 outbreak in the White House, where the vice president of the United States, Mike Pence, rejects the quarantine and plans to continue the campaign after it is revealed that at least five people close to tested positive. in the last days.



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