WH COVID Task Force Urges Public Health Officials to Skirt Public Policies If Necessary to Warn About Infection Rates

The White House Coronavirus Task Force urged public health officials to bypass public policies if necessary to warn about the rising COVID infection rates. The Task Force wrote in a November 29 report, obtained by NBC News, that "the COVID risk to all Americans is at a historic high." The report continued: "If state and local policies do not reflect the seriousness of the current situation, all public health officials must alert the state population directly." The call to public health officials represents a significant escalation by the task force which also asked state and local officials to impose more stringent COVID-19 measures, including mask mandates and indoor dining restrictions. The task force report said the national daily cases of COVID-19 after Memorial Day and before the summer surge were fewer than 25,000. Now, the U.S. is reporting over 180,000 new cases each day. Coronavirus hospitalizations have also increased since then, according to the task force. Between Memorial Day and the summer surge, there were less than 30,000 hospitalized, but the U.S. is now seeing over 90,000. COVID-19 deaths have also more than doubled. "We are in a very dangerous place due to the current, extremely high COVID baseline and limited hospital capacity; a further post-Thanksgiving surge will compromise COVID patient care, as well as medical care overall," said the report. In November, a majority of state governments imposed measures requiring residents to wear face masks in public settings. However, about a dozen states do not have statewide face mask measures. Mandates don't exist in Alaska, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee and Wyoming. Kansas law also permitted most counties to reject the governor's order at their own discretion, although most still encourage residents to wear face coverings. Several states included in the list have seen some of the most severe upticks in COVID-19 cases.

Dr. Deborah Brix, the White House Coronavirus Task Force coordinator, previously urged people to exercise personal responsibility even if their state and local leaders haven't issued COVID-19 mandates. "To every American: This is the moment to protect yourself and your family," Brix said on November 29 during an interview with CBS News' Margaret Brennan. "And so, if your governor or your mayor isn't doing the policies that we know are critical— masking, physical distancing, avoiding bars, avoiding crowded indoor areas— if those restrictions don't exist in your state, you need to take it upon yourself to be restrictive," Brix continued. The White House didn't respond to Newsweek's request for comment in time for publication.

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