Adm. Brett Giroir thinks stricter lockdowns are “on the table,” warning the country to expect to see increased hospitalizations and deaths related to the coronavirus.
To reduce those expectations, the assistant secretary for health and coronavirus testing czar, said on Sunday that states with case spikes need to increasingly mandate public health measures.
“Everything should be on the table,” Giroir said about potentially introducing stricter lockdowns. “Closing bars is an important thing. Limiting the capacity of restaurants is an important thing. These are two measures that really do need to be done. … We need about 90% of people in those really hot areas to wear masks when they are in public. Now let me just say, we are not out of this at all.”
NEW: “Everything should be on the table,” White House coronavirus testing czar Adm. Brett Giroir tells @GStephanopoulos asked if it’s time “to consider more stringent lockdowns” in states where cases are surging. https://t.co/i5tuANHRb5 pic.twitter.com/f3eI0b4rKL
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) July 12, 2020
Several states have seen spikes in coronavirus cases, particularly in the southern region of the United States. The rising numbers have prompted local and state leadership to take swift actions to introduce public health mandates or halt their reopening plans.
Giroir did say that while hospitalizations and deaths are supposed to go up, ways to care for patients are better known now than a few months ago, which he hopes will help increase the chance of survival.
The U.S. has now seen over 3 million cases of coronavirus and is nearing 140,000 deaths.
