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A senior White House official issued a dire warning about the recent surge in coronavirus cases in the US and said in a briefing on Monday: “Right now I’m scared.”
Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), deviated from the prepared remarks to reflect on the “recurring feeling I have of impending doom.”
“We have so much to look forward to, so much promise and potential from where we are and so many reasons for hope, but right now I’m scared,” Walensky said, his voice shaking.
“I speak today not necessarily as your CDC director, and not just as your CDC director, but as a wife, mother, daughter, to ask you to please wait a little longer.”
When asked to explain his concern, Walensky noted that new cases in the US recently stalled at around 40,000 to 50,000 a day, but are now at around 70,000 a day.
Coronavirus hospitalizations and deaths are also on the rise. According to Johns Hopkins University, 549,364 Americans have died from the coronavirus.
Walensky urged Americans to continue taking all possible precautions to limit the spread of the virus, including wearing masks and social distancing, as states work to vaccinate more residents.
