Coronavirus Task Force Holds Press Briefing

And they're done

Dr. Redfield just rolled his eyes at Kaitlan Collins

Uh oh

#BREAKING: Cuomo rejects Trump call for school reopenings: "The President does not have the authority to open schools." pic.twitter.com/qvU3hySp6A

— The Hill (@thehill) July 8, 2020

France: Risk for children is “extremely low, we can say a thousand times lower than in adults. Children are weak carriers, poor transmitters, and when they are infected it is almost always adults in the family who have infected them."https://t.co/lulrnqnRgd

— Phil Kerpen (@kerpen) July 7, 2020

Dr. Birx: I think the Vice President talked about risk to children incredibly well. We know the mortality rate under 25 from CDC data is less than 0.1%. That's holding. Until we know how many have been infected, we have no evidence that there is significant mortality in children without coexisting diseases. We have to make sure we have turned every rock and understand that in detail.

"Far fewer children are affected by COVID-19, and the number of transmissions from children to children and children to adults is far less."https://t.co/ez1xcIz2pg

— Phil Kerpen (@kerpen) July 7, 2020

Dr. Redfield: We really don't have evidence that children are driving the transmission cycle of this. 

CDC: Our recommendations are not mandates

This virus does not cause significant illness in children, unlike THE FLU. There are substantial health consequences to schools being closed, however, Dr. Redfield says. 

He says we have almost no evidence that children are community transmitters of this illness. 

VP on whether opening schools puts children's lives in danger: This risk of COVID19 infection in children is very low.

This is something experts have been saying for months now. No one seems to care. 

VP Pence: I think every American knows that we can safely reopen our schools and we want, as the president said this morning, to make sure what we're doing doesn't stand in the way of doing that.

VP: We don't want CDC guidelines to prohibit reopening

VP Pence on whether Trump's vow to withhold federal funds was an idle threat: We will be looking for ways to give states "strong encouragement" to get kids back to schools

Question about putting kids at risk with the reopening of schools

This isn't about health vs. the economy it's about health vs. health, Azar says.

There are risks to keeping kids at home, too

Sec. Azar: HHS's perspective is that reopening schools is the best thing we can do for families

Eugene Scalia: "The pace and structure of our national life depends on our children being in school, in person...we need our schools open in the fall."