On Friday, White House coronavirus response coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx spoke with reporters in Washington about their latest assessments of the pandemic in America. Dr. Birx specifically called out Los Angeles, Chicago, and Washington D.C. as the three regions that she says will continue seeing problems.
“Even though Washington has remained closed, L.A. has remained closed, Chicago has remained closed, we still see these ongoing cases,” she said.
As of Thursday, Los Angeles County had more than 42,000 confirmed cases, and a death toll of 2,021.
“This is a very sad milestone for us,” Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said on Thursday.
Dr. Birx also asked the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday to work with the three areas to "really understand where are these new cases coming from, and what do we need to do to prevent them in the future."
Many officials seem to be torn with when, and how, they think Los Angeles should reopen. Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis said she is concerned, yet still hopeful that the stay-at-home orders can be lifted soon.
“I wish that we could speed things up,” Solis said. “The virus is still out there waiting for us to let our guard down.”
According to the Los Angeles Times, COVID-19 hospitalizations in the county have decreased more than 15% from when they hit their peak six weeks ago.
“The progress we’ve made in slowing the spread, the reduction in the average daily deaths and hospitalizations and retaining capacity in our healthcare system — this lets us know that the extraordinary efforts and sacrifices made by all of you are working,” Ferrer added. “As a community, we’ve done this together, and this progress is a direct reflection of what all of you in your day-to-day lives have been able to accomplish.”