DR BIRX VISITS ARKANSAS - President Donald Trump's top coronavirus adviser Dr. Deborah Birx paid Little Rock, Arkansas a visit yesterday as part of a 19 city tour she’s conducting to meet with Governors and state and local health officials to see how well each state is handling the Coronavirus pandemic. Speaking before a press conference at the Governor’s Mansion yesterday- Dr. Birx revealed that a big cause for the recent spikes in Covid-19 has to do with families and friends holding parties are helping spread the virus.
"We're finding that the majority of community spread right now is happening from parties.," Brix said. "Everyone believes that there's no one there that has Covid and yet there is someone there who has the virus."
Dr. Birx explained that family members and close friends will decide not to practice social distancing and wearing masks. She stressed that late summertime family gatherings could affect children who will soon be attending school.
"If there's active circulation of high cases of new infections this week, you can assume there will be children who are infected that first day of school." Brix explained.
Arkansas' public schools are set to resume classes next week. While they're allowed to offer virtual classes or a hybrid approach, the schools will be required to be open five a days a week for students who need in-person instruction. Dr. Birx did emphasize that parents and public officials have a strong role to play in how to deal with schooling during the pandemic.
"If there's active circulation of high cases of new infections this week, you can assume there will be children who are infected that first day of school." Dr. Deborah Birx, White House Coronavirus Adviser
"We also have to have the parents and the adults in the communities making good judgements of how they prevent community spread in their communities," Brix said. "So that children don't go to school already infected because of what has happened in their community."
Some groups are calling for school to start using online instruction only, Arkansas Teacher’s Unions and Associations have expressed such as much. However Republican Governor Asa Hutchinson favors in-classroom instruction, Schools in the state are set to reopen between Aug. 24 and 26.
