Former White House Coronavirus Task Force Coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx on Friday warned about the potential for Inauguration Day activities to become a superspreader event. In particular, Birx was concerned about the number of troops that were coming together to protect the Capitol. Tens of thousands of troops from every state in the country conglomerating in close quarters could be a disaster. And so far, more than 150 National Guardsman have tested positive for the Wuhan coronavirus.
But that number could grow. And quick.
"Let's focus on what's happening right here, right now, here in the District of Columbia. There are National Guard troops from every state in the union probably. Young individuals, who are most likely to have asymptomatic infection if they do get infected and they're congruently living and eating maskless, 25 to 30,000 of them from all over the United States," Birx explained.
The doctor warned about the potential for Inauguration Day activities to be a "superspreader event."
"When you bring 30,000 people together where you know that they're most likely to have asymptomatic infections and you haven't pre-screened, pre-tested, and serially tested all of these troops," she said. "These are dedicated troops. They're going to do their mission. I can promise you that they will sacrifice their own health to do their mission, because that's what I came from. You sacrifice for others out of the military. They will do their mission."
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WATCH: Dr. Deborah Birx, former White House #coronavirus response Coordinator, tells @margbrennan #inaguration2021 gatherings "could be" a super spreader event for #COVID19.
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) January 23, 2021
More of her exclusive interview tomorrow on @FaceTheNation on @CBShttps://t.co/JMS2EKXflr pic.twitter.com/NKpt32QhKC
