Pence expresses sorrow about the 126,000 deaths and the 2.5 million infections, but also claims "we have made truly remarkable progress in moving our nation forward."
Pence: All 50 states are "opening up safely and responsibly." (Texas and Florida announced today that they are shutting some things down again because the opening was not safe.)
Pence, who sometimes just repeats Trump's lies even though he is well versed in the facts, applauds Trump for his decision to "suspend all travel from China," even though it was not all travel because there were multiple exemptions.
Pence delivers Trump's usual line about how 1.5M-2.2M people could've died if nothing was done, but "we slowed the spread, we flattened the curve, we saved lives." (The cases curve is now going upward again.)
Pence says there are no outstanding requests for PPE or medical supplies from states being severely affected now, but the federal government stands ready to help if needed.
Pence acknowledges that we are now seeing cases "rise precipitously across the South," then claims 34 states across the country are "experiencing a measure of stability." (Cases are rising in more than half of states.)
Pence argues that "to one extent or another, the volume of new cases coming in is a reflection of a great success in expanding testing across the country." (We're seeing increases in hospitalizations and positivity rates.)
Pence: "The fact that we are *finding* more younger Americans who have contracted the coronavirus is a good thing." (In multiple other major countries, they are finding fewer people, total, who are contracting the coronavirus.)
Pence: We're encouraged that while 2 months ago, some 15% of new cases were hospitalized, now it's roughly 5%.
Pence: "We can still take some comfort in the fact that fatalities are declining all across the country." (They are not declining literally everywhere in the country, though the national number is down from the peak.)
Pence: There "may be a tendency" among Americans to think "we're in a time of great losses and great hardship on the American people" like we were two months ago, but in reality, "we're in a much better place." This...is not a time of great losses and great hardship on Americans?
Birx: We now know who is at risk of "significant disease," and it's particularly people over 80 and "individuals with comorbidities" no matter their age, such as younger people with significant diabetes or significant obesity.
Birx says they have concerns about states that have both rising numbers of cases and rising test-positivity rates. She says the two top states for test-positives are Texas and Arizona, followed by FL, MS, SC, AL, GA, LA, NV, UT.
Birx: Texas' positivity rates continued to decline throughout May as they increased testing, but in the last 2.5 weeks, it's been rising positivity along with rising testing.
Birx urges people to be "wearing a mask." Pence did not say those words, instead saying people should use protective equipment.
Fauci: "It's very clear" that certain areas are "doing very well" and opening in a "prudent way" -- "however," "we are facing a serious problem in certain areas."
Fauci: "Maybe opening a little too early on some" could have contributed to some of the problems we're seeing now, "not actually following the steps in an orderly fashion," or trying to follow them but "the citizenry" didn't want to agree.
Fauci says we don't have time right now, amid these problems, to lay blame or do too deep an analysis of what happened.
Fauci: Even if you feel fine, "a risk for you is not just isolated to you. Because if you get infected, you are part, innocently or inadvertently, of propagating the dynamic process of a pandemic. Because the chances are...that you're going to infect someone else."
Fauci to young people: It's understandable you're going out in crowds and enjoying yourself, no blame, but if you get infected you're going to infect someone else who will infect someone else, and then ultimately someone who is vulnerable.
Fauci says he's making a "plea" to people, not only in currently-badly-affected states but elsewhere, to realize that everyone is vulnerable.
Azar: Thanks to the leadership of Trump and Pence, "America has never been readier to combat COVID-19."
CDC chief Redfield: It's our responsibility "to recommit ourselves" to staying six feet apart, "to wear face coverings when we're in public," and to wash our hands.
Pence told that experts are stressing the importance of distancing yet their campaign has held rallies where people haven't worn masks. Pence: "Well, the freedom of speech, the right to peaceably assemble, is enshrined in the Constitution of the United States."
Pence asked why they're holding rallies and other big events amid these warnings about the need for distancing: We have an election coming up, and we want to give "people the freedom to participate in the political process. And we respect that."
Pence: It's important to note that what we're seeing in the South is really "outbreaks," really outbreaks "in specific counties" or "specific communities."
Asked if he's concerned that wearing a mask or not has become a political statement, and whether he has a message on masks, Pence says "the first principle is that people oughtta listen to their state and local authorities."
Asked if Texas and Florida did too much reopening too soon, Pence says, "I think there will be a temptation for people to look at the Sunbelt states that have been reopening and putting people back to work" and suggest that "has to do with what we're seeing," but...1/
...Pence says these states actually reopened long ago and had low #s. He claims that "what we're observing today" is that "we're seeing more and more young people, under the age of 35, who are testing positive," many of them asymptomatic. (Again: hospitalizations rising too.)
Asked if he expects deaths to rise too in the coming weeks, Pence says "our hope and our prayer is it's not the case." He notes that the number of daily deaths is significantly lower now than it was at the peak.
Told that it's as if he's saying do as we say not as we do, given they held the Tulsa rally and an event at a packed church in Arizona, Pence sighs, then says freedom to peaceably assemble is in the Constitution and people don't forfeit that even in a health crisis.
Pence: This is not a choice between health and the economy, since "there are profound health implications to the lockdowns through which we just passed."
It is, obviously, not an infringement of Americans' constitutional rights for a candidate to not schedule arena events during a pandemic.
