Targeting key states, CDC plans for helping states change, then change again, showcasing continued chaos in the national coronavirus response.
The nation’s top federal disease agency had just started activating teams in nine states still relatively untouched by coronavirus when new orders came in last week from the White House coronavirus task force: shift resources to Tennessee and Nebraska, and double down in New Mexico and North Dakota.
The federal government’s state-by-state reopening plan relies on the strength of local public health networks, for which the CDC has long provided national guidance.In some cases, records and interviews show, it was the White House task force that directed the CDC to change course, blindsiding veteran public health officials at the agency while leaving some states in the dark about what sort of help to expect from Washington.
They have offered guidance and technical expertise on everything from laboratory testing to tracing the contacts of the infected. One senior CDC official paraphrased the mission explained by White House response coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx as an effort to “prove we were not asleep at the switch,” according to meeting notes.The program was meant to last two weeks and offer federal officials insight into how to expand to all 50 states, internal records show. Instead, it lasted only a few days before the order came to scale it up. It is unclear who made that decision.
Public health experts recommend extensive tracing of the contacts of infected people, so they can be isolated to prevent further infections. “This is a continuous timeline,” he said. “We are not going to do four states and stop and then write a paper.”Federal guidelines for the states, which will make their own decisions on reopening, have been widely criticized as too loose. The White House plan establishes general criteria for when states can shift between phases of outbreak response, with expansive reopening conditional on adequate hospital and testing capacity.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
CDC reminds people to follow disinfectant instructions while usingThe US coronavirus outbreak has altered daily life in almost every way. Here's the latest updates on US Covid-19 cases, deaths, reopening efforts, the government response, unemployment and more.
Read more »
CDC: Multiple Cruise Ship Outbreaks of Norovirus from Frozen Fruits and BerriesHere is what you need to know about the cruise line outbreak. 1.July to September 2019 Cruise Line X Experienced sudden unexplained outbreaks of acute gastroenteritis (AGE)on 10 cruise ships sailin…
Read more »
Language barriers helped turn Smithfield Foods meat plant into COVID-19 hotspot: CDC40 languages are spoken at the South Dakota pork processing plant that has become a coronavirus hot spot, but workers who showed symptoms were sent home with info packets that were only in English, federal investigators revealed Thursday. - csiemaszko
Read more »
CDC accused of spreading anti-asian racism with Instagram posts - InsiderPeople are accusing the CDC of stoking anti-Asian racism with 2 Instagram posts that an art expert called an 'attack on Chinese cultural heritage'
Read more »
White House Picks Apart Coronavirus Headline but CDC Director Says 'I Was Accurately Quoted'President Donald Trump used the first part of Wednesday coronavirus briefing to push back on a Washington Post interview with Robert Redfield
Read more »
U.S. CDC reports 828,441 coronavirus cases, 46,379 deathsThe U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Thursday reported 828,441 cases of the novel coronavirus, an increase of 25,858 from its previous count, and said the number of deaths had risen by 1,804 to 46,379.
Read more »