White House warns of 'aggressive, unrelenting' COVID spread across the country
From Minnesota to California, states are beginning to reinstate strict lockdown measures.
Story at a glance
- A document obtained by NBC News revealed the White House Coronavirus Task Force described broad community spread of COVID-19.
- This follows optimistic news surrounding vaccine efficacy.
Faced with skyrocketing new COVID-19 cases, multiple states are issuing new lockdown restrictions, closing common spaces like bars, restaurants, schools, and gyms.
In response to about 50 U.S. states and territories witnessing record-breaking new COVID-19 cases, the White House Coronavirus Task Force issued candid remarks about the state of the nation, describing the “now aggressive, unrelenting, expanding broad community spread across the country, reaching most counties, without evidence of improvement but rather, further deterioration.”
The report was obtained by NBC News and added that current mitigation procedures to halt the spread of the virus “are inadequate and must be increased to flatten the curve" and that the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday has the potential to "amplify transmission considerably.”
In addition to new cases, hospitalization and deaths are rising as well, with current 14-day percent changes increasing by 49 percent and 52 percent, respectively.
But there may be a silver lining with the promising news surrounding the efficacy rates of two vaccine candidates announced by Pfizer and Moderna over the past two weeks.
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