On coronavirus, President Trump and health advisers go their separate ways
Video above: President Trump insists US 'rounding the turn' on virus
A multistate coronavirus surge in the countdown to Election Day has exposed a clear split between President Donald Trump맥스카지노s embrace of a return to normalcy and urgent public warnings from the government맥스카지노s top health officials.
It's the opposite of what usually happens in a public health crisis, because political leaders tend to repeat and amplify the recommendations of their health experts, not short-circuit them.
맥스카지노It's extremely unusual for there to be simultaneous contrary messaging,맥스카지노 said John Auerbach, who heads the nonpartisan Trust for America's Health.
The Republican president and the health officials appear to be moving farther apart since White House chief of staff Mark Meadows declared last Sunday 맥스카지노we맥스카지노re not going to control the pandemic.맥스카지노
Since then, Health and Human Services Assistant Secretary Adm. Brett Giroir has done a round of interviews warning that the country's situation is 맥스카지노tenuous맥스카지노 but that Americans can indeed control the virus by practicing what he calls the 맥스카지노3W's맥스카지노 맥스카지노 watching your distance from others, wearing a mask and frequently washing your hands.
White House coronavirus adviser Dr. Deborah Birx, touring the states to raise prevention awareness, lamented in Bismarck, North Dakota, that she hadn't seen such disdain for mask wearing elsewhere.
"We find that deeply unfortunate because you don맥스카지노t know who맥스카지노s infected and you don맥스카지노t know if you맥스카지노re infected yourself,맥스카지노 she told reporters. The state's positive test rate is 11%, above the level indicating widespread transmission.
HHS Secretary Alex Azar, for his part, has a profile photo of himself masked up on his .
But Trump continues to ridicule masks and mask-wearing as he insists the U.S. has turned the corner on the virus. At a reelection rally Wednesday in Bullhead City, Arizona, the president painted a sardonic word picture of left-coast Californians trying to eat through their masks.
맥스카지노How about California ... where you are supposed to eat with the mask (and) can맥스카지노t take it off?맥스카지노 Trump said. 맥스카지노You see people and, boy, you know when you have spaghetti and meat sauce ... you walk out it looks like you got into a fight."
That's not actually what the California governor's office recently recommended to restaurant goers. The advice was to keep the mask on when not eating, or 맥스카지노between bites.맥스카지노 An illustration showed a diner masked while reading the menu and, later, while wiping her hands with a napkin after eating.
It might all be considered political theater if the nation's situation weren't so serious.
맥스카지노We are in a third wave,맥스카지노 said Marta Wosinska of the Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy. 맥스카지노We are seeing pretty dramatic increases in the number of people hospitalized and an uptick in deaths.맥스카지노
The White House insists there's no conflict between Trump and the health advisers who back in the spring shared the briefing room podium with the president on many an occasion.
맥스카지노As the president has said, the cure cannot be worse than the disease and this country should be open armed with best practices, such as social distancing, good hygiene, and face coverings, to limit the spread of COVID-19,맥스카지노 spokesman Judd Deere said in a statement.
The health officials do not invoke Trump in their warnings, and they sidestep questions that might lead them into anything that could be perceived as a direct criticism. But their message reflects a different view of reality than what's coming from the president and senior White House officials.
맥스카지노I wasn't an English major, but 맥스카지노tenuous맥스카지노 seems like the right word맥스카지노 to describe the condition of the country, Giroir said this week on NBC. The surge can be controlled by going back to the 맥스카지노3W's맥스카지노 but 맥스카지노if we don맥스카지노t do those things it may force local officials or government officials in the states to have more draconian measures.맥스카지노
The numbers bear him out.
According to data through Thursday from Johns Hopkins University, the seven-day rolling average for daily new cases in the U.S. rose over the past two weeks from 53,412 to 76,590. That marks a return to levels not seen since the summer surge.
The seven-day rolling average for daily new deaths rose over the past two weeks from 704 to 803.
Fifteen states have test positive rates of 10% or higher, considered an indicator of widespread transmission. The picture is not all bleak because there are also states that have succeeded in curbing previous surges.
But test positive rates have been rising in 44 states, according to the COVID Tracking Project.
Giroir also said the facts contradict the notion that that the U.S. has more cases because it tests so many people. That's an assertion often heard from Trump.
맥스카지노We do believe, and the data show, cases are going up 맥스카지노 it's not just a function of testing,맥스카지노 he said on NBC. Rising numbers of hospitalizations and deaths confirm that.
Trump's clashes with science and the scientists around him have been a running story throughout the pandemic. He's often lashed out at Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government's top infectious disease specialist. He's called CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield 맥스카지노confused맥스카지노 about the timeline for the availability of vaccines.
But the split is only growing wider.
With the arrival of cold weather, the virus risk is greater because people will spend time indoors where it can spread more readily. Contradictory messages from the top don't help.
맥스카지노The risk is enormous,맥스카지노 Auerbach said. 맥스카지노We are literally talking about lives being at stake.맥스카지노