United States coronavirus response coordinator, Dr. Deborah L. Birx, has issued a warning to the White House that the country will be entering “the most concerning and the most deadly phase of the COVID-19 pandemic”.
This warning comes on the eve of the US Presidential election between Donald Trump and Joe Biden and in the wake of the country recording its highest daily increase in confirmed COVID-19 cases, in consecutive days over the weekend and more than 90,000 newly confirmed cases for three days straight.
Birx, who has been cautious about following President Trump’s messaging around the COVID-19 pandemic and navigating both the science and the politics since being appointed to her position in March, has issued a private memo warning White House officials that Trump’s assertion that the US is “rounding the corner” are incorrect. She says that the pandemic is entering a new and “deadly phase”, which demands a far more aggressive approach and should be even more extreme than lockdowns.
“We are entering the most concerning and most deadly phase of this pandemic,” Dr. Birx wrote, according to The New York Times, adding, “This is not about lockdowns — It hasn’t been about lockdowns since March or April. It’s about an aggressive balanced approach that is not being implemented.”
Birx also advised against public gatherings such as President Trump’s campaign rallies, before saying that we can expect more days where over 100,000 new infections are recorded daily.
It breaks with the approach taken by Birx in her messages about the pandemic, which have previously supported Trump’s statements – in public at least. In the early days of the pandemic, she projected a calm, authoritative presence – and a steady counterpoint to the mixed messages from Mr. Trump.
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