The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday a second wave of coronavirus next winter could be 'even mo...
The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday a second wave of coronavirus next winter could be 'even more difficult'.
Robert Redfield warned the 'assault on our nation' could potentially be 'even more difficult than the one we just went through'.
He told The Washington Post: 'And when I've said this to others, they kind of put their head back, they don't understand what I mean.'
Redfield issued his bleak assessment after labeling anti lockdown protests and calls to liberate states by President Donald Trump as 'not helpful'.
He also said an 'alternative workforce' of Census Bureau workers, Peace Corps and AmeriCorps volunteers could be used as contact tracers in the coming months.
Thousands of protesters took to the streets of North Carolina, Missouri and Alabama Tuesday to demand governors bring an end to coronavirus lockdown rules and reopen the states for business.
The director of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Robert Redfield, pictured, said Tuesday a second wave of coronavirus next winter could be 'even more difficult'
Health experts insist they are critical to saving lives amid the deadly outbreak.Revolts against stay-at-home orders across several US states continued to gain momentum, as thousands of Americans disregarded social distancing rules to protest against the shutdowns that have left millions out of work.
And Redfield reiterated 'the enormous impact' social distancing has 'had on this outbreak in our nation'.
He said guidance for reopening states 'will be in the public domain shortly.'
The death toll in the U.S. stood at more than 44,000 Tuesday evening — the highest in the world — with more than 800,000 confirmed infections.
The true figures are believed to be much higher, in part because of limited testing and difficulties in counting the dead.
Protesters from a grassroots organization called REOPEN NC gather to pressure North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper to reopen the State in Raleigh, NC
Columbus, Ohio: A local militia group is seen at a rally to protest the stay-at-home order
A nurse wipes away tears as she stands outside NYU Langone Medical Center as New York Police Department (NYPD) Mounted Police and other units came to cheer and thank healthcare workers at 7pm during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in New York City
The CDC is looking to hire more staff, Redfield said, as 'contact tracers'.
They alert people who may have come in contact with someone who tested positive for the virus so they can self-quarantine or be tested themselves.
But Redfield also urged Americans to get the flu vaccination which 'may allow there to be a hospital bed available for your mother or grandmother that may get coronavirus.'
He said that if flu and corona had peaked at same time 'it could have been really, really, really, really difficult in terms of health capacity.'
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