Just read through this. It is very good - thorough, helpful, practical. Exactly what we need and expect from @CDCgov.
And it also makes very clear how reckless much of the reopening so far has been. Nowhere close to meeting these very sensible standards.
And it also makes very clear how reckless much of the reopening so far has been. Nowhere close to meeting these very sensible standards.
A few weeks ago I tweeted that I had lost confidence in Dr. Birx, because she was clearly defending things that she as a scientist knew to be wrong.
I got pushback on that - which I respect - arguing that she is making tactical compromises in order to avert larger mistakes.
I got pushback on that - which I respect - arguing that she is making tactical compromises in order to avert larger mistakes.
Episodes like this really undermine that theory, in my view.
The Task Force got the President to grudgingly extend social distancing guidelines - but couldn't get him to build a testing/tracing program that would actually capitalize on the delay.
The Task Force got the President to grudgingly extend social distancing guidelines - but couldn't get him to build a testing/tracing program that would actually capitalize on the delay.
The Task Force got the President to issue (tepid, vague inadequate) reopening guidelines - but couldn't get him to meaningfully hold states to adhering to them.
The Task Force got the President to briefly criticize Georgia for recklessly reopening prematurely - but not to follow through when Georgia move ahead regardless.
And as other states recklessly followed suit, the President has encouraged rather than criticized them.
And as other states recklessly followed suit, the President has encouraged rather than criticized them.
And now the Task Force can't even issue something as basic as practical reopening guidance for communities and the private sector, for fear that it will expose the recklessness of the re-openings the President has encouraged, in contravention of his own guidance.
And meanwhile testing remains a debacle, PPE remains a debacle, cases remain flat or rising, and death tolls are reaching war-like levels, with no light at the end of the tunnel.
Meanwhile the only actions that have appreciably improved the safety of Americans during the lockdown period have been led by governors and mayors, often directly in spite of the feds. abcnews.go.com/Politics/maryl…
To believe senior officials are making tactical compromises in order to preserve space for strategic wins, you've got to be able to show some actual strategic wins.
Instead we continue to see only brief tactical wins, each rapidly overwhelmed by wider strategic disarray.
Instead we continue to see only brief tactical wins, each rapidly overwhelmed by wider strategic disarray.
(BTW here's the link to the actual guidance:) documentcloud.org/documents/6883…
