The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday that social distancing protocols are the nation’s best weapon against the spread of the coronavirus.
Dr. Robert Redfield said the number of cases in the U.S. hasn’t peaked and that many metropolitan areas will see things get worse before they get better. But he said Americans aren’t helpless against the virus.
“We have one of the most powerful weapons that we need actually to combat this virus,” Redfield said. “This virus can’t jump from one person to another. It can’t swim. It needs to basically have us less than six feet apart. That’s why this social distancing is so important.”
He said every person needs to rigorously follow the CDC guidelines, including staying at home if possible, leaving only for essential matters and staying at least six feet away from other people. He also said people should wash their hands regularly.
“I thank the people who done it,” Redfield said. “It’s a sacrifice. But I ask those who’ve been on the sidelines to go all in. Between now and May 1, we want to break the virus outbreak in this nation down. We want to get it under control. We need all the American people to embrace his social distancing with vigor and vigilance in order to get this done.”
Redfield made his remarks Thursday during a live interview on WDUN’s “Morning Talk with Martha Zoller.”
Since the outbreak began, more than 217,000 people have been diagnosed with COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus. The virus has killed more than 5,000 people and nearly 9,000 have recovered, according to the latest CDC numbers. At noon Thursday, Georgia had 5,348 confirmed cases and 163 deaths, according to the Georgia Department of Public Health website. The website does not indicate how many Georgians have recovered.
On Wednesday, Gov. Brian Kemp announced he was issuing a statewide shelter-in-place order, effective Friday through April 13. He said more details would be released today. But in his remarks, he said learning that the virus can be spread before symptoms are shown was a “game changer” was him.
Redfield said the evidence of pre-symptom spread has been building for about three months. He also said some people who never develop symptoms may still have the virus and the ability to give it to other people.
“We learned over the last 12 weeks, there is significant transmissions of the virus through the nasal passages before people develop symptoms, up to 48 hours before,” Redfield said. “We now have data to affirm that a significant number of individuals can actually get this virus and not develop symptoms at all.”
Despite efforts at social distancing, Redfield said the outbreak is not near its end. He said the nation's worse outbreak in New York City and northern New Jersey has not peaked, and he said hotspots in more rural areas, such as Dougherty County in Southwest Georgia, are also concerning.
“I think right now in the United States, we are still in the acceleration phase of the outbreak,” he said. “We really haven’t hit the peak. … The outbreak is continuing to spread is some of the metropolitan areas. In general, we’re still on the uptick and that’s why (social distancing is) so important.”
Redfield said special precautions should be taken when dealing with what he called the nation’s vulnerable populations, the elderly, especially those in nursing homes, and others who have significant health issues.
“The biggest challenge I think we see in many parts of the country are when we develop outbreaks in nursing homes or nursing home facilities,” he said. “These are very problematic, not only for the residents because they’re elderly and they have conditions that put them in a position for poor outcomes, but a lot of times, these pockets jump up from a nursing home cluster and then it gets into the community.”
He said Americans have always pitched in during times of need, and it is especially important right now in the battle to contain the virus.
“We need all the American people to embrace his social distancing with vigor and vigilance in order to get this done,” Redfield said. “I ask people to shut their eyes and see their parents face, or their grandparents or a neighbor or a coworker with diabetes or HIV or bad heart disease, or a child trying to embrace life while they are trying to live with a diagnosis of cancer or cystic fibrosis like my grandson, Joey, has. We’re doing it for them Most of us are going to get better. Ninety-eight and a half to 99 percent of us, if we get this virus, are going to recover. The challenge is the vulnerable. They are not necessarily going to recover.”
He said the country was in a war with the virus. But it’s a war that can be won.
“In this war, what I’m asking the American people in the weeks and months ahead, is to join us and actually save a life,” he said. “If we all embrace it, we can save the lives of the vulnerable.”
