ATLANTA — The White House Coronavirus Task Force discovered a troubling trend happening in cities across the nation, and found Atlanta is one of nine cities in the U.S. with a concerning rate of positive coronavirus infections.
According to the Center for Public Integrity, White House Coronavirus Task Force leader Dr. Deborah Birx revealed this information on a private call with state and local officials from across the country on Wednesday.
“We are seeing encouraging signs across the South,” Birx said on the call obtained by the Center for Public Integrity.
In the article by CPI, it goes on to say that Birx said, “We are concerned that both Baltimore and Atlanta remain at a very high level.”
The CPI points to a list of other cities where there are concerns.
The outlet posted a response from a White House spokesperson Judd Deere on Birx’s private call and the unpublished data:
“The White House Coronavirus Task Force is providing tailored recommendations weekly to every governor and health commissioner for their states and counties. From the beginning, this has been a locally executed, state managed, federally supported response as local leaders are best positioned to make on-the-ground decision for their communities armed with CDC guidelines and best practices to limit the spread of COVID-19. As the President has said, the cure cannot be worse than the disease and the United States will not be shut down again.”
According to Georgia Department of Public Health data, Fulton County, which includes Atlanta, has recorded more than 3,500 cases in the last two weeks.
The county's cases per 100,000 residents figure for the last two weeks is 323.7, about middle of the pack for the state. DeKalb County, which includes a slice of Atlanta, is slightly lower, and both are lower than Cobb or Gwinnett.
11Alive News asked the governor's office for a response to Brix's comments, but did not receive one.
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