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CDC Director: U.S. ‘Could Drive This Epidemic’ Into The Ground In 4-6 Weeks With Simple Steps

   DailyWire.com
Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), speaks during a White House Coronavirus Task Force briefing at the Department of Education in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Wednesday, July 8, 2020. President Donald Trump today said he may cut funding if schools do not open before the November election.
Joshua Roberts/Bloomberg via Getty Images

CDC Director Robert Redfield, MD, told a group of reporters in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, on Monday that if everyone wears face coverings for four to six weeks in the U.S., the COVID-19 epidemic in the country could be driven “to the ground.”

“I think it’s important, again, to emphasize, you can’t emphasize it too much, that actually face coverings work,” Redfield said. “It’s our major defense to prevent ourselves from getting this infection.”

Redfield continued, “If all of us would put on a face covering now for the next four weeks to six weeks, I think we could drive this epidemic to the ground in the country, so hopefully there’ll continue to be more emphasis on that.”

“I just want to make a few points of emphasis, that obviously I think people realize that this is the greatest public health crisis that we’ve had to respond to as a nation in more than a hundred years, and it’s really a marathon, not a sprint,” Redfield said leading into his later comments about face coverings.

“One of the most important things that we have in the response to this outbreak right now, as we wait for the development of important countermeasures, particularly an effective, efficacious vaccine, is to fully embrace public health,” he continued. “And the most important aspect of that, I try to remind people that we are not defenseless against this virus, we actually have some of the most powerful weapons you could ask to have.”

Along with urging the public to wear face coverings, Redfield emphasized the importance of maintaining “hand hygiene” and “social distancing.”

Redfield’s comments come as the number of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. hit over 3.3 million this week with over 135,000 succumbing to the disease.

Video and partial transcript of Redfield’s comments below:

CDC DIRECTOR ROBERT REDFIELD: I just want to make a few points of emphasis that obviously I think people realize that this is the greatest public health crisis that we’ve had to respond to as a nation in more than a hundred years and it’s really a marathon, not a sprint.

One of the most important things that we have in the response to this outbreak right now, as we wait for the development of important countermeasures, particularly an effective efficacious vaccine, is to fully embrace public health. And the most important aspect of that I try to remind people that we are not defenseless against this virus, we actually have some of the most powerful weapons you could ask to have. And the most powerful weapon that we have that I know of is wearing face coverings when you’re in public. So, we ask the American public to all fully embrace the use of face coverings when they’re in public.

The second thing we have is the importance of hand hygiene and the third is the importance of social distancing. These are not just words, these are very powerful public health tools. And then we can couple that with the traditional public health measures that we’ve used for decades of early case identification, contact tracing, isolation. But the most important thing that I can ask the American public to do is to fully embrace face coverings, to fully embrace careful hand hygiene and fully embrace social distancing.

And the last thing I’ll say before I answer questions is, I also appeal to the American public to commit themselves to protect the vulnerable. For most of those under the age of 45, this virus is not going to cause significant morbidity or mortality, but those of us that have significant medical comorbidities like obesity, diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease, chronic lung disease, and happen to be elderly, particularly those over the age of 65, with those comorbidities, this virus can cause significant illness requiring hospitalization, even death.

I think it’s important, again, to emphasize, you can’t emphasize it too much, that actually face coverings work. It’s our major defense to prevent ourselves from getting this infection.

If all of us would put on a face covering now for the next four weeks to six weeks I think we could drive this epidemic to the ground in the country, so hopefully there’ll continue to be more emphasis on that.

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