White House Says Pandemic Is Under Control, While Fauci, WHO Warn That Outbreak Is Dangerously Speeding Up
Top public health officials and some senior members of the Trump administration are again urging vigilance as COVID-19 cases continue to skyrocket in many areas of the U.S. "This is a real call to action,” Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said in an television interview. Yet White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said, “We’re at a place where we can handle the cases that we’re seeing.” Meanwhile, HHS says the federal state of emergency, set to expire in late July, will be extended.
Politico:
‘Recipe For Disaster’: Fauci Urges Americans To Buckle Down On Coronavirus Preventative Measures
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, admonished Americans who have abandoned practicing personal mitigation measures to slow the spread of the coronavirus — asserting that such an “all or none” approach has contributed to a surge of new Covid-19 cases across the country. “What has happened, I guess understandably, but nonetheless regrettably, [is] that people took the attitude in some places of either all or none. Either you’re locked down, or you just let it fly and you just ignore many of the guidelines of” social distancing, mask-wearing, abstaining from shaking hands and avoiding large crowds, Fauci told CNN in an interview that aired Monday. (Forgey, 6/29)
The Washington Post:
Trump Administration Says The Coronavirus Pandemic Is Well Under Control Despite Surges In The South And West
The Trump administration said Monday that it has the coronavirus epidemic under control in the United States, but a resurgent outbreak in Sun Belt states continued to worsen — and Jacksonville, Fla., where President Trump plans to pack a convention hall to accept the Republican nomination for reelection, made mask-wearing mandatory. The World Health Organization warned that the outbreak is far from over and a grim milestone passed Sunday, with the confirmed worldwide death count from the novel coronavirus surpassing 500,000, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Over the weekend, the number of coronavirus cases reported worldwide soared past 10 million. (Gearan, Shammas and Beachum, 6/29)
NPR:
WHO Chief On COVID-19 Pandemic: 'The Worst Is Yet To Come'
The head of the World Health Organization is warning that the COVID-19 pandemic is speeding up, and he criticized governments that have failed to establish reliable contact tracing to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Speaking at a briefing in Geneva, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said: "We all want this to be over. We all want to get on with our lives. But the hard reality is this is not even close to being over." "Although many countries have made some progress, globally the pandemic is actually speeding up," he said. (Neuman, 6/29)
Modern Healthcare:
HHS Spokesperson Says Agency Will Renew Public Health Emergency
HHS spokesperson Michael Caputo on Monday tweeted that HHS intends to extend the COVID-19 public health emergency that is set to expire on July 25. The extension would prolong the emergency designation by 90 days. Several payment policies and regulatory adjustments are attached to the public health emergency, so the extension is welcome news for healthcare providers. (Cohrs, 6/29)
The Hill:
Survey: Americans Trust CDC Most, Trump Least For Information About COVID-19
Americans say they trust information on the coronavirus pandemic from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) the most — and President Trump the least — according to a Pew Research Center survey released Monday. The majority of respondents to the survey, 64 percent, said the CDC and other public health organizations get the facts right almost or most of the time regarding COVID-19. Only 30 percent said the same about Trump and his administration. (Klar, 6/29)
NPR:
Former NIH Director Has Harsh Words For Trump Administration's Pandemic Response
Dr. Elias Zerhouni knows the dangers of infectious disease outbreaks. He was director of the National Institutes of Health in 2005 when bird flu appeared poised to become more infectious to humans. Fortunately, that pandemic never materialized, but he says it served as a warning of what was to come. Zerhouni has been a member of the faculty of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and head of global research and development for the pharmaceutical company Sanofi. (Palca, 6/29)
In related news —
Modern Healthcare:
Federal Deficit To Balloon After Pandemic Stimulus Spending, Group Warns
Federal stimulus spending during the COVID-19 pandemic has helped stabilize the economy, but that the spending will come at a significant cost in the long run, according to projections from the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. The nonpartisan CRFB projects the national deficit will rise to 131% of U.S. gross domestic product by the end of the decade. (Bannow, 6/29)
