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White House to Shut Down COVID Task Force as Virus Spreads in US

VOA News

   U.S. President Donald Trump reversed course Wednesday, saying he would
   keep the coronavirus task force indefinitely, but refocus it on keeping
   Americans safe and reopening the country to commerce again.

   Vice President Mike Pence said on Tuesday that the administration was
   considering dismantling the task force at the end of May or early June
   to shift management of the national response back to federal agencies.
   He called the move "a reflection of the tremendous progress we've made
   as a country."

   "And as I've said before, as we continue to practice social distancing
   and states engage in safe and responsible reopening plans, I truly
   believe -- and the trend lines support it -- that we could be in a very
   different place," Pence said.

   Ronald Klain, a frequent Trump critic who ran the response to the 2014
   Ebola outbreak in West Africa under former President Barack Obama,
   sharply disagreed with the administration's plans.

   "I stepped down as WH Ebola Response Coordinator when we were down to
   FIVE CASES A WEEK," he wrote on Twitter. "Yes, FIVE CASES A WEEK."

     I stepped down as WH Ebola Response Coordinator when we were down to
     FIVE CASES A WEEK.
     Yes, FIVE CASES A WEEK. [1]https://t.co/U2vZX22vu7
     -- Ronald Klain (@RonaldKlain) [2]May 5, 2020

   Don't dismantle
   Ali Mokdad, a professor at the University of Washington's Institute for
   Health Metrics and Evaluation, said if he were in charge, he would
   shift the focus of the task force instead of getting rid of it.

   "I would not dismantle it, but I would create a COVID-19 recovery task
   force," Mokdad said.

   IHME issued a new forecast Monday projecting 135,000 coronavirus deaths
   in the United States through the beginning of August. It said the
   figures take into account easing of stay-at-home and social distancing
   measures that are happening in about 30 U.S. states.

   The United States currently has 1.2 million confirmed coronavirus
   infections and more than 71,000 COVID-19 deaths.

References

   1. https://t.co/U2vZX22vu7
   2. https://twitter.com/RonaldKlain/status/1257753783632891904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

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