Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus response coordinator, on Sunday said that social distancing amid the pandemic should be here to stay through the summer and that researchers are still searching for a “breakthrough” in testing.
“Social distancing will be with us through the summer to ensure that we protect one another as we move through these phases,” Dr. Birx said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
She said the federal government and the states have made progress in expanding testing capacity.
“We have to have a breakthrough,” she said. “This RNA testing will carry us certainly through the spring and summer, but we need to have a huge technology breakthrough and we’re working on that at the same time.”
The White House also issued recent guidance for states to start reopening parts of their economies.
A handful of states, including Georgia, South Carolina, and Oklahoma, have allowed a limited number of businesses to start reopening.
The moves come even though the states aren’t necessarily hitting benchmarks laid out by the White House, like a downward trajectory of documented coronavirus cases over a 14-day period, to start moving to “phase one” of the recovery.
Dr. Birx said she’s had good conversations with governors who understand the risks and talk about reopening like turning up a “dimmer,” rather than flipping an on/off light switch.
“We look at things in a very granular way and governors should be doing the same,” she said.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.