White House warned of ‘most deadly phase’ of pandemic by leading adviser
‘This is not about lockdowns it’s about an aggressive balanced approach that is not being carried out’
THE White House’s top coronavirus adviser has warned officials that the US was entering the “mostly deadly” phase yet of the outbreak, as the topic loomed large on election day.
Dr Deborah Birx issued the warning to the US administration in a private memo as the nation’s daily coronavirus count approached 100,000, in direct contradiction of President Donald Trump’s repeated assertions that the pandemic is “rounding the corner”.
“We are entering the most concerning and most deadly phase of this pandemic,” Dr Birx wrote. “This is not about lockdowns – it hasn’t been about lockdowns since March or April. It’s about an aggressive balanced approach that is not being implemented.”
Unlike Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Dr Birx has not publicly clashed with Mr Trump over his approach to the pandemic.
The warning came as millions of Americans headed to polling stations up and down the country, armed with face masks and hand sanitiser.
Some faced temperature checks before they were allowed to enter the booths, while some stations were offering antibacterial wipes. Election officials ensured voters lined up outside polling stations, limiting the amount of time they spent indoors.
“I worry about the virus, we all do, but I heard about the challenges to try to stop mail-in votes being counted so I didn’t want to risk it,” Glenn Goldstein, 61, told The Daily Telegraph outside a polling station in Philadelphia.
An unprecedented 100 million Americans decided to vote early this year – nearly 70 per cent of the total number of votes cast in 2016 – partly over coronavirus concerns.
While some opted to vote early inperson, many more decided to post their ballot to avoid contact at the polls.
With more than 90,000 testing positive for the virus every day in the US, there had been fears that many voters would be unable to cast their ballot.
The Telegraph spoke to one such voter in New York, who tested positive on Friday and was concerned she would not be able to go to the polls. She applied for an emergency same-day ballot on Monday, which arrived at her door later that day with an envelope and a stamp.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention declared yesterday, however, that people who are in quarantine or sick with the coronavirus are allowed to vote in person, providing they wear a mask, stay 6ft apart from others and wash their hands before and after entering the polling station.