Official: Can ease virus grip

Safety measures work, he asserts

In this Sept. 16, 2020 file photo, Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services for Health Adm. Brett Giroir speaks at a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing on a "Review of Coronavirus Response Efforts" on Capitol Hill in Washington. A day after White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said “we’re not going to control the pandemic,” a top Trump administration health official says Americans have already proven they can do that through basic safeguards shown to work.  “I think we can control the pandemic,” Assistant Secretary for Health Adm. Brett Giroir said Monday on a call with reporters. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, Pool)
In this Sept. 16, 2020 file photo, Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services for Health Adm. Brett Giroir speaks at a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing on a "Review of Coronavirus Response Efforts" on Capitol Hill in Washington. A day after White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said “we’re not going to control the pandemic,” a top Trump administration health official says Americans have already proven they can do that through basic safeguards shown to work. “I think we can control the pandemic,” Assistant Secretary for Health Adm. Brett Giroir said Monday on a call with reporters. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, Pool)

WASHINGTON -- A day after White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said that "we're not going to control the pandemic," a top Trump administration health official said Monday that Americans have already proved they can do that through basic safeguards.

"I think we can control the pandemic," Assistant Health Secretary Adm. Brett Giroir said on a call with reporters.

"I want to be clear that what we have done -- what the American people have done -- has been able to put out very significant outbreaks ... all across the Deep South," Giroir said.

He underscored what he calls the "Three W's" -- watching the distance from other people, wearing masks when it's impossible to keep away, and frequently washing hands.

Giroir said the data is pretty clear that while such simple measures cannot completely defeat the virus, they can control it. The "nail in the coffin" for the coronavirus will come when vaccines are approved and widely distributed, he added.

Giroir's comments highlight the differences between government health officials and some in the top circle of White House advisers to President Donald Trump, who believe Americans can achieve widespread immunity by returning to normal life while protecting the elderly and others who are highly vulnerable.

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A senior political appointee at the Department of Health and Human Services, Giroir is a pediatric critical care specialist but has also held high-level management posts and conducted scientific research. He has been working to increase coronavirus testing in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities, which account for more than 40% of deaths from covid-19. His office Monday announced new testing support for states bearing the brunt of the latest surge in cases.

On Sunday, Meadows told CNN that "we're not going to control the pandemic. We are going to control the fact that we get vaccines, therapeutics and other mitigation areas."

Asked why the U.S. wasn't going to get control, Meadows responded: "Because it is a contagious virus. Just like the flu, it's contagious."

But scientists say public health measures have been shown to work. After the initial outbreak in early spring led to a national shutdown, the number of new cases a day dropped from about 40,000 to around 20,000.

Then came the summer surge. As many states embraced reopening, new cases topped 70,000 a day, driven by increases in the South and West. When some of those same states pulled back, new daily cases dropped to between 35,000 and 40,000. Now they're shooting back up, with average daily cases again approaching 70,000.

Giroir said basic public health measures are "smart" and "proven" policies. "We need to continue that and reach higher levels, particularly in areas of community spread," he said.

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RISING DEATHS

National deaths are on the rise just as health experts had feared, with cases climbing in practically every state.

Average deaths per day are up 10% over the past two weeks, from 721 to nearly 794 as of Sunday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Newly confirmed infections per day are rising in 47 states, and deaths are up in 34.

Health experts had warned that it was only a matter of time before deaths turned upward, given the record-breaking surge in cases engulfing the country. Deaths are a lagging indicator -- that is, it generally takes a few weeks for people to sicken and die from the virus.

Michael Osterholm, a University of Minnesota expert on infectious diseases who warned over the summer of a fall surge, said what's happening now is a confluence of three factors: "pandemic fatigue" among people who are weary of hunkering down and are venturing out more; "pandemic anger" among those are don't believe the scourge is a real threat; and cold weather, which is forcing more Americans indoors, where the virus can spread more easily.

"When you put those three together, we shouldn't be surprised what we're seeing," Osterholm said.

The virus is blamed for almost 8.7 million infections and more than 225,000 deaths in the U.S., the highest totals in the world.

Deaths are still well below the U.S. peak of more than 2,200 per day in late April. But experts are warning of a grim fall and winter, with a widely cited model from the University of Washington projecting about 386,000 dead by Feb. 1. A vaccine is unlikely to become widely available until mid-2021.

The seven-day rolling average for daily new cases hit a record high Sunday of 68,767, according to Johns Hopkins, eclipsing the mark of 67,293 in mid-July. The U.S. recorded more than 80,000 new cases both Friday and Saturday -- the highest marks yet -- though testing has expanded dramatically over the course of the outbreak, making direct comparisons problematic.

The true number of infections is thought to be far higher because many Americans have not been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected without feeling sick.

Osterholm predicts the darkest days will be in the weeks or months ahead. He said he expects increased competition for drugs and shortages of hospital specialists, N95 masks and other protective gear.

A strong national response plan was needed, along with consistent messaging that emphasized mask-wearing and other preventive measures, Osterholm said.

"But our response has been ... I don't know what our response has been," he said.

TEXAS MEASURES

Residents of the Texas border city of El Paso have been urged to stay home for two weeks as a spike in virus cases overwhelms hospitals, prompting the state to dedicate part of the city's civic center as a makeshift care center.

Ricardo Samaniego, the county judge of El Paso County, on Sunday night issued a stay-home order with a daily curfew from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. Violators could be fined $500, but the curfew does not apply to people who are going to or from work or out for essential services, including grocery stores and health care.

"We are in a crisis stage," said Samaniego. On Monday, the county reported a record high in daily virus cases.

On Sunday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said 50 hospital beds will be set up in the convention center and that another 50 beds could be added. The site, scheduled to open this week, will provide additional medical equipment and personnel.

Dr. David Persse, chief medical officer for Houston, on Monday said cities have been coordinating with state officials to move patients from El Paso -- and potentially Amarillo, Lubbock and the Rio Grande Valley -- to Dallas, Austin, San Antonio and Houston. Persse said he was told Saturday that Houston could get two to four patients a day.

"The plan is in place, the connections have been made," he said. "At this point, it looks like the volume of patients to be moved will be very, very small, and let's hope it stays that way."

The state has already provided more than 900 medical workers to El Paso, some of whom will be staffing the convention center site.

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LOUISIANA DISPUTE

In Louisiana, Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards filed a lawsuit Monday challenging House Republicans' efforts to rescind the statewide mask mandate, business restrictions and other limits he enacted to combat the virus, keeping the rules in a legal limbo.

House Republicans, backed by Attorney General Jeff Landry, say they have nullified the entire public health emergency and the restrictions Edwards enacted through his proclamation. But the administration continues to enforce the rules, arguing the law used by GOP lawmakers is unconstitutional.

Amid the uncertainty about what guidelines businesses, churches, schools and residents should follow, Edwards asked a court to declare that the emergency rules remain intact and enforceable.

"As soon as you start having success because of the way you are managing the emergency, that is not the right time to discard the tools that allow you to have that success," the governor said. "It's misguided thinking by some members of the House."

A never-before-used process in Louisiana law allows a majority of legislators in either the House or Senate to sign a petition to revoke a governor's emergency declaration -- and all the restrictions and rules tied to it. GOP House Speaker Clay Schexnayder and 64 other Republican lawmakers in the 105-member House signed such a petition Friday, prohibiting the governor from enacting another virus emergency proclamation for seven days.

The law calls for the governor receiving such a petition to end the emergency. But Edwards hasn't terminated his order, arguing that the petition law violates a governor's constitutional and statutory powers to respond to emergencies. He also said GOP lawmakers didn't follow the law's requirement that they consult with the state's public health authority before issuing the petition.

He filed suit against the full Legislature, the House and Schexnayder. And he told residents and businesses on social media and in a news briefing that his Phase 3 restrictions remain "in full force and effect."

OKLAHOMA'S STRUGGLES

Oklahoma is one of the states consistently breaking records for new cases, and the strain is being felt in hospitals. Bed space is running out, and an equally daunting problem is a shortage of nursing staff.

Dr. Sam Ratermann, director of the hospitalist program at INTEGRIS Grove Hospital in Grove, said patients are being transferred from "hospital to hospital across the state" for lack of beds.

"Even when we have open ICU beds across the state, we don't have staff to fill them," Ratermann said. "There's going to be a point where there's no beds and we can't even care for our local citizens."

​​​​​Information for this article was contributed by Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, Melinda Deslatte, Lisa Marie Pane, Mike Stobbe and staff members of The Associated Press.

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