"We cannot have these large gatherings that continue to occur throughout the country for people who are off work," as Birx used a White House briefing to say those social actions are further spreading the virus, and endangering other Americas.
President Trump echoed those warnings.
"They can be carrying lots of bad things home to grandmother and grandfather, and even their parents," the President told reporters, again urging Americans to follow his recommendations issued earlier this week to not gather in groups larger than 10 people.
NEW: “There are concerning reports coming out France and Italy about some young people getting seriously ill,” Dr. Deborah Birx says, calling on “millennial generation" to "heed" guidance.
— ABC News Live (@ABCNewsLive) March 18, 2020
“We cannot have these large gatherings that continue to occur.” https://t.co/iuBVwT3ujI pic.twitter.com/iWaqjcyeMD
Speaking directly to millennials, Dr. Birx very clearly stepped up her public warnings to Americans in their 20's, trying to get their attention about the virus.
"There may be disproportional number of infections among that group," Birx added.
As Birx said more test results would be coming in soon from around the country, she urged Americans not to overreact to the raw number of Coronavirus cases.
"So, we will see the number of people diagnosed dramatically increase over the next 4-5 days," Birx said, arguing that will mainly be the result of getting rid of a backlog of tests for the virus.
On the issue of testing, President Trump was pressed as to why NBA players were seemingly able to get tests easily, while regular Americans were told to wait.
Q: "How are non-symptomatic professional athletes getting tests while others are waiting in line and can't get them? Do the well-connected go to the front of the line? Should that happen?
— CSPAN (@cspan) March 18, 2020
President Trump: "No, I wouldn't say so...but perhaps that's been the story of life." pic.twitter.com/hFEty9q1a3
Coronavirus response coordinator Deborah Birx says a backlog of COVID-19 tests will now be run: "We will see the number of people diagnosed dramatically increase over the next 4-5 days...our curves will not be stable until sometime next week." https://t.co/iuBVwT3ujI pic.twitter.com/hgVHVNmTsF
— ABC News Live (@ABCNewsLive) March 18, 2020
On Wednesday, the President and Vice President announced a series of other measures to step up the federal response on the Coronavirus, which included:
+ President Trump invoked the Defense Production Act to help marshal resources during a time of national emergency.
+ Vice President Pence called on hospitals and dentists to stop elective surgeries.
+ The Trump Administration will suspend evictions and foreclosures through April.
+ Two military hospital ships will be deployed, one to New York City to help deal with medical needs.
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