Harvard Pandemic Expert Hits WH for ‘Baffling’ Decision to Hide List of 18 ‘Red Zone’ States That Should Restart Shutdowns
Dr. Ashish Jha, director of the Harvard Global Health Institute, called out the White House for its “baffling” decision to refuse to make public a coronavirus task force document that lists 18 “red zone” states that should roll back their re-opening because of their high Covid-19 infections rates.
During an appearance on CNN’s The Lead with Jake Tapper, Jha explained that he had seen the secret White House document, a copy of which had been obtained by the non-profit news group, the Center for Public Integrity. Dated July 14, the brief confirmed what many public experts and some governors have already accepted — that a resurgence of the virus in many parts of the nation necessitate a return to many shutdowns of businesses and public gatherings.
“What’s your reaction to this list of red zone states by the white house task force, the secret document that was not shared publicly?” the CNN host asked, after pointing out that Florida, which just reported 11,000 news cases on Friday, is among the 18 states in dire circumstances.
“I had a chance to review the document. And it’s really striking to me in a couple of ways,” Jha said. “One is it’s a pretty good document. It’s like a pretty, science-based document that you’d expect from the coronavirus task force. And it lays out which states are in big trouble and what those states should be doing. And it’s pretty clear in its public health recommendations.”
“What is amazing to me is that it is a secret,” Jha then added. “Why it is a secret and why this document is a secret is baffling. And it’s also clear that governors are largely, some governors are not following the recommendations of the coronavirus task force.”
“Well, how should the governors in these red zone states respond? What should they be doing?” Tapper followed up.
“They should be following the science and they should be following the evidence,” Jha explained, before highlighting the case of Georgia, where that state’s governor, Brian Kemp, is clashing with local officials for his prohibition on mandating masks. “And the coronavirus task force recommendations are that. So, for a place like Georgia, for instance, their recommendations are very clear that there should be a statewide mandate on wearing masks and that in the red zones of Georgia, there should be no gyms, there should be no bars. And they encourage governors to allow localities to have even more restrictive policies. Again, it’s a very science-based document coming out of the task force. I was thrilled to see it. And then, of course, I was puzzled that it is both being kept as a secret and that governors are defying or just ignoring it.”
Watch the video above, via CNN.
