DR.
DR. DEBORAH BIRX IS A FORMAL COLONEL IN THE MILITARY.
SHE WORKED AT THE CENTERS FOR
DISEASE CONTROL AND IS NOW
LEADING THE WHY ASK CORONAVIRUS
TASK FORCE.
TASK FORCE. THE WHITE HOUSE CALLED TO SEE
IF WE WOULD LIKE TO INTERVIEW
HER IN TEXAS BUT WE HAVE SOME
QUESTIONS.
QUESTIONS. THEY ARE MANY OF THE SAME ONES
YOU HAVE BEEN ASKING AS WELL.
LET'S START WITH THE BIG
QUESTION EVERYONE HAS.
HOW LONG IS IT GOING TO TAKE TO
GET ENOUGH TESTS TO PHYSICALLY
TEST EVERYONE WHO WANTS TO GET
TESTED ?>> THAT IS A GREAT
QUESTION.
QUESTION.
QUESTION. AS YOU KNOW WE HAVE HAD TO
CONVERT ALL OF OUR TESTING INTO
THESE COMMERCIAL PLATFORMS.
I THINK THAT WAS REALLY AT THE
PRESIDENTS GUIDANCE A REAL
BREAKTHROUGH.
BREAKTHROUGH. TO BE ABLE TO TEST LITERALLY
TENS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE A
DAY.
DAY.
DAY. WE
DAY. WE ARE RUNNING ABOUT 60 TO
70,000 TESTS A DAY NOW IF YOU
REMEMBER WE WERE PREVIOUSLY AT
500 TO 1000 TESTS A DAY.
WE UNDERSTOOD THE NAME AND WE
HAVE BEEN WORKING VERY HARD TO
ENSURE THOSE COMMERCIAL
PLATFORMS ARE AVAILABLE.
CURRENTLY WE HAVE PRIORITIZE
THE TEST FOR THE HOSPITALS THAT
REALLY NEED EARLY DIAGNOSIS OF
OTHER PATIENT.
OTHER PATIENT. IF YOU HAVE DONE DRIVE
THROUGH'S, YOU MAY BE DELAYED
IN GETTING YOUR RESULTS.
>> YOU SAID THAT ANYONE WHO
LEAVES IN NEW YORK CITY SHOULD
BE QUARANTINED FOR AT LEAST 14
DAYS.
DAYS.
DAYS. MAJOR AIRLINES STILL FLY IN AND
OUT OF NEW YORK'S CITY AND FLY
BACK TO HUBS. YOU THINK
PASSENGER SERVICE TO
NEW
NEW YORK
NEW YORK CITY SHOULD BE CANCELED
UNTIL THIS WAS OVER LIKE IT WAS
TO CHINA TO EUROPE?
GO I THINK EVERY AMERICAN IS
TAKING RESPONSIBILITY AND
UNDERSTANDS THAT IF THEY HAVE
BEEN IN AN AREA WHERE THERE IS
MORE TRANSMISSION, YOU NEED TO
MONITOR YOURSELF AS WELL AS
PROTECT OTHERS.
PROTECT OTHERS. THAT WAS WHAT THAT MESSAGE WAS
ABOUT.
ABOUT.
ABOUT. WE
ABOUT. WE KNOW THAT PEOPLE WHO TRANSIT
THROUGH NEW YORK COME IN TO
DELIVER GOODS OR COME IN FOR
VERY SPECIFIC TIME LIMITING
MEANS AND REASONS.
THAT IS REALLY, REALLY NOT
DOING SAYING ANY GUIDANCE ABOUT
RESTRICTING THAT ACTIVITY.
>> SOME STATES HAVE ENACTED A
STATEWIDE LOCKDOWN.
STATEWIDE LOCKDOWN. I THINK THE NUMBERS UP TO 21 AS
I RECORD THIS RIGHT NOW.
TEXAS HAS NOT INSTEAD IN THIS
STATE THEY ARE HANDLING IT ON A
COUNTY BY COUNTY BASIS.
SHOULD TEXAS RECONSIDER THAT?
THAT IS A REALLY EXCELLENT
QUESTION BUT I WILL TELL YOU
THAT IS WHAT WE ARE LOOKING AT
NOW AT THE DIRECTION OF THE
PRESIDENT.
PRESIDENT. WE ARE LOOKING AT THIS AS A
STATE BY STATE AND COUNTY BY
COUNTY BASIS BUT WE ARE LOOKING
AT THE ABSOLUTE NUMBER OF
CASES.
CASES.
CASES. WE
CASES. WE ARE LOOKING AT THE GROSS
RATE OF NEW CASES.
TEXAS IS A BIG STATE.
SO TEXAS WOULD HAVE A GREAT
VARIABILITY ACROSS THE STATE.
WHERE YOU OFTEN GET INTO TROUBLE
ARE METRO AREAS WHERE PEOPLE
HAVE BEEN CLOSER TOGETHER OR
POTENTIALLY THROUGH PUBLIC
TRANSPORT IN PUBLIC TRANSPORT
SYSTEMS BECAUSE WE KNOW THE
VIRUS LIVES ON METAL AND HARD
SURFACES, PEOPLE COULD HAVE
GOTTEN INCIDENTALLY EXPOSED AND
THERE IS MUCH MORE TRANSMISSION
AND WHAT WE BELIEVE IN THESE
HIGHLY URBAN AREAS BUT SO THE
GOVERNOR SHOULD BE LOOKING AT
THEIR DATA EVERY DAY THAT IS
COMING IN.
COMING IN. >> YOU HAVE AMAZING HOSPITALS
AND SCIENTISTS ALL ACROSS TEXAS
BUT I HAVE MET MANY OF THEM,
THEY ARE BRILLIANT.
I THINK YOU HAVE TESTING
AVAILABLE AND USING THAT
SUCCESSFULLY TO BE LATER
FOCUSED ON WHAT YOU NEED TO DO
IN EACH OF THE COUNTIES.
>> DR. BURKS I WANT TO ASK YOU
ONE LAST QUESTION.
WHAT KIND OF PROJECTIONS HAVE
YOU SEEN AS FAR AS WHEN COVID-
19 MIKE PEEK IN THE UNITED
STATES?
STATES?
STATES? WHAT WOULD THAT LOOK LIKE AND
WHEN MIGHT THAT COME?
GO WE ARE ENCOURAGED BY THE
CURVES OF CHINA, SOUTH KARINA
KOREA AND NOW SOME EARLY
EVIDENCE FROM ITALY THAT THEY
MAY WITH THEIR STRONG
MITIGATION EFFORTS TO BE ABLE
TO SEE A CHANGE.
UNDERSTAND, TAKES ABOUT TWO TO
THREE WEEKS TO SEE THE IMPACT
OF YOUR MITIGATION EFFORTS
BECAUSE THE CASES THAT YOU SEE
THAT COME TO THE HOSPITAL, THEY
WERE EXPOSED PROBABLY TWO WEEKS
OR MORE AGO.
THAT IS WHY WE ARE TRACKING