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Washington – Dr Deborah Birx, coordinator of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, warned on Sunday that Americans who traveled for the Thanksgiving vacation and attended large gatherings should assume they were infected with COVID- 19 and get tested in the next few days.
“We know people might have made mistakes during the Thanksgiving season,” Birx said in an interview with “Face the Nation”. “If you are young and come together you should be tested about five to ten days later. But you should assume that you are infected and not go near your grandparents and aunts and the like without a mask.”
Birx also said it was essential to avoid other people with co-morbidities.
As Thanksgiving approaches, public health experts have urged Americans to forgo large family celebrations amid the latest wave of coronavirus infections. There have been more than 13.2 million confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the United States and more than 266,000 Americans have died from COVID-19.
In response to the surge in coronavirus cases and the increase in hospitalizations, some governors and mayors have started to reimpose restrictions on businesses and restaurants to mitigate the spread. Others, however, have consistently refrained from implementing mask warrants and allow bars and restaurants to remain open with few restrictions.
Birx said that in places where mitigation measures are not in place, it is up to individual Americans to take their own steps to protect themselves and their families.
“For every American, this is the time to protect themselves and their family,” she said. “So if your governor or mayor isn’t enforcing the policies we know are essential – masking, physically distancing, avoiding bars, avoiding crowded interior areas – if those restrictions don’t exist in your state, you need to enforce them. . You don’t have to go to these places. You have to protect your family now. “
Birx stressed that the mask requirements have proven to be effective in fighting the spread of the coronavirus, but public health experts are “deeply concerned about what could happen” with infection rates after Thanksgiving.
Combating the coronavirus pandemic has been a priority for President-elect Joe Biden and his team, and leaders of his coronavirus advisory board have started participating in briefings with federal agencies to better prepare for the pandemic once Mr. Biden has make an oath.
Birx said she hoped to start briefing Biden’s new administration on Monday, saying it was essential to start reviewing data compiled by the federal government on coronavirus infections and the spread of the virus.
“The only thing we will bring to the Biden administration in this discussion is to understand how they want to see data, because data is not useful if it is not actionable,” she said. “And every group needs to see him as he pushes him to action.”
Still, the Trump administration runs the federal government until Jan.20, and Birx has said it briefs Vice President Mike Pence on a daily basis. She did not say when she last informed President Trump, however.
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