Head of the White House response to coronavirus privately warns of a new “lethal phase”
Dr. Deborah Birx contradicts Trump’s unsubstantiated optimism within hours of Election Day
Dr. Deborah Birx , one of the experts who has led the Trump Administration’s response to the coronavirus , issued a memorandum to White House officials on Monday warning that the pandemic is entering a new “deadly phase” and ” that demands a more aggressive approach , ” according to The New York Times .
The doctor’s warning was sent the same day that the United States registered more than 91,300 new cases and after days beating the record for daily infections . This contradicts the false claims that President Donald Trump has consistently made to unsubstantiate that the pandemic is about to end.
Birx suggests in her writing that Trump and his advisers spent too much time focused on lockdowns and shutdowns in the economy and not so much on controlling the virus.
“We are entering the most worrying and deadliest phase of the pandemic,” the expert wrote. “This is not about lockdowns. He hasn’t been in lockdown since March or April. It is an aggressive and balanced approach that is not being implemented, “he added.
The report he is sending now advises against the types of campaign events that Trump is holding ahead of Tuesday’s election . The former coordinator of the White House working group against the new coronavirus also warns that there will continue to be days in the United States with more than 100,000 infections .
The Washington Post was the first outlet to report on the Birx memo. The Times later said a senior White House official confirmed the content.
Since the start of the health crisis, Birx has had to constantly seek the balance between politics and science. And many times he has come under fire for resisting expressing his disagreement with Trump. But the evidence of the growing number of cases and hospitalizations worries government scientists and public health experts.
