There’s no doubt that the coronavirus continues to spread rapidly across the country. Nearly 80 percent of U.S. states are now seeing new COVID-19 cases increase from the prior week, according to The New York Times. A White House document that leaked on July 16 stated that 18 states are in what they call the “red zone” as they had more than 100 new cases per 100,000 residents in a week. Now, a new report has revealed that Deborah Birx, MD, White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator, secretly warned a number of major U.S. cities that they need to monitor and get “aggressive” controlling their outbreaks.
According to a report from the Center for Public Integrity, which also leaked the previous White House document, Birx named 11 COVID hotspots as places that need to control their outbreaks in a private phone call with state and local leaders on July 22. “This is really critical that everybody is following this and making sure they’re being aggressive about mitigation efforts,” she said on the call.
While the report of the Center for Public Integrity does not provide details about what these “aggressive” acts should be, the leaked White House document suggested that public officials in “red zones” do the following: Close bars and gyms, limit social gatherings to 10 or fewer participants, require masks for businesses that remain open, recruit more contact tracers, provide isolation facilities for COVID-positive individuals who can’t quarantine at home, and set up pool testing, among other recommendations.
Now, read on to find out the COVID hotspots Birx is talking about!
