Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus task force coordinator, warned on Sunday that Americans will have to continue avoiding crowds for several months to contain the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, even as the economy reopens. "Social distancing will be with us through the summer to really ensure that we protect one another as we move through these phases," Birx said on NBC News' Meet the Press.
Birx's comments conflicted with Vice President Mike Pence's assurances on Friday that the pandemic could be "largely" over as early as Memorial Day weekend, the unofficial start of the summer vacation season. Nearly 20 states are preparing to partially reopen their economies next week, but the number of cases in the U.S. is fast approaching 1 million with more than 55,000 deaths.
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