Thread by @Surgeon_General

Thank you @POTUS for the opportunity to provide an update on America’s #COVID19 response. Thanks to close cooperation with state and local partners, we are making progress against the virus and towards a safe reopening.

More from my comments in Dallas, TX 👇

Through strong public private partnerships, America has now conducted more than 20 million tests, with a positive rate of under 6% nationally over the last week - well under the 10% rate we hope to see from a public health perspective.

This has happened in part thanks to our opening of 494 community-based testing sites, including through the work of private sector partners and the #USPHS #CommissionedCorps. 70% of those sites are located in socially vulnerable areas.

We also have testing at 92% of 🇺🇸’s community health centers, which predominately serve low-income areas & communities of color. We’ve helped equip our heroic frontline health workers. @HHSGov & @fema have shipped > 94M N95 respirators, 149M surgical masks & > 1B gloves.

Reopening is crucial for health, too. We need Americans to be able to return to getting cancer screenings, surgeries, primary care, and vaccinations.

▪️ 4.2 million children behind on vaccinations
▪️ Every 1% increase in unemployment equates to a 1.3% increase in suicides

As we reopen, the basic public health recommendations we’ve emphasized remain important:

▪️ Follow state & local guidelines
▪️ When you’re in public & it’s difficult to keep a distance, @CDCgov recommends wearing a cloth face covering
▪️ Frequent & thorough #handwashing

Thanks to the hard work of so many healthcare and public health workers, and the commitment of the American people, we’ve made huge progress in the fight against #COVID19.

Together, we'll get through this.