Birx ‘very concerned’ about coronavirus spreading through Memorial Day weekend crowds
The large crowds of people gathering at popular destinations over the holiday weekend are worrisome, a top public health official says.
Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House Coronavirus Task Force coordinator, said in an interview on FOX News Sunday that she’s “very concerned” about seeing people venturing out over the holiday weekend without maintaining social distancing.
“We now have excellent scientific evidence of how far droplets go when we speak or just simply talking to one another, and we know that it’s important for people socially interact,” she said during the interview. “But we also know that it’s important that we have to have masks on if we’re less than six feet, and we have to maintain that 6-feet distance.”
Her comments come as beaches and other popular Memorial Day weekend spots, some of which have recently reopened, attract large crowds across the country.
Birx told FOX News Sunday she recognizes being outside and being in the sun is good for people and that there are potentially safe ways to take part in outdoor activities amid the pandemic.
“But that doesn’t change the fact that people need to be responsible and maintain that distance,” she said.
She also said that across the country, “there is still virus out there” and as people go out it’s important to “make sure that we’re doing everything that we need to do to make it safe for others in public.”
The United States has reported more than 1.6 million confirmed cases of the coronavirus as of Sunday, according to Johns Hopkins University, and the death count is nearing 100,000.
In a White House press onference last week, The Hill reports that Birx said Americans could go to beaches and go out over Memorial Day weekend so long as social distancing and other measures are adhered to.
When asked Sunday on ABC if, after seeing large crowds over the weekend, she still thought reopening beaches and parks was the right call, Birx said it’s the job of public health officials to communicate risks to the public
She told ABC that officials have made it clear that there’s asymptomatic spread of the coronavirus and that people don’t always know if they’re infected.
“So we really want to be clear all the time that social distancing is absolutely critical and if you can’t social distance and you’re outside, you must wear a mask,” she said on ABC News.
This story was originally published May 24, 2020 at 12:59 PM with the headline "Birx ‘very concerned’ about coronavirus spreading through Memorial Day weekend crowds."
