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.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Today's political cartoons - March 30, 2025Cartoons Sunday's cartoons - strawberry fields forever, secret files, and more
-
5 hilariously sparse cartoons about further DOGE cutsCartoons Artists take on free audits, report cards, and more
-
Following the Tea Horse Road in ChinaThe Week Recommends This network of roads and trails served as vital trading routes
-
Measles outbreak spreads, as does RFK Jr.'s influenceSpeed Read The outbreak centered in Texas has grown to at least three states and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is promoting unproven treatments
-
RFK Jr. offers alternative remedies as measles spreadsSpeed Read Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. makes unsupported claims about containing the spread as vaccine skepticism grows
-
Texas outbreak brings 1st US measles death since 2015Speed read The outbreak is concentrated in a 'close-knit, undervaccinated' Mennonite community in rural Gaines County
-
Mystery illness spreading in Congo rapidly kills dozensSpeed Read The World Health Organization said 53 people have died in an outbreak that originated in a village where three children ate a bat carcass
-
Ozempic can curb alcohol cravings, study findsSpeed read Weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy may also be helpful in limiting alcohol consumption
-
New form of H5N1 bird flu found in US dairy cowsSpeed Read This new form of bird flu is different from the version that spread through herds in the last year
-
Microplastics accumulating in human brains, study findsSpeed Read The amount of tiny plastic particles found in human brains increased dramatically from 2016 to 2024
-
FDA approves painkiller said to thwart addictionSpeed Read Suzetrigine, being sold as Journavx, is the first new pharmaceutical pain treatment approved by the FDA in 20 years
