CDC Director Says Reopening Process Must Be ‘Data Driven’

Dr. Robert Redfield —Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director— is stressing the importance of statistics and science when it comes to any attempt to reopen the economy.

During an interview on NBC’s “The Today Show” on Monday, Redfield discussed the United States economy and what it would take to reopen the country. He was asked whether or not it would be conceivable to reopen the country by May 1.

According to Redfield, the accumulation of accurate data will be the most effective way to carefully prepare for the reopening of the economy.

“There’s no doubt that we have to reopen correctly. It’s going to be a step-by-step, gradual process,” Redfield said on Monday morning. “It’s got to be data driven, and as I said I think it will be community by community, county by county.”

See Redfield’s remarks below:

Redfield went on to confirm the results of the United States’ current social distancing efforts. Despite the ongoing debates about the closures, nationwide, Redfield has noted that social distancing has drastically diminished the previously possibility.

One of the worst-case scenario models for the outbreak even suggested the United States death toll could reach more than a staggering 1 million Americans if U.S. officials did not take swift action to combat the pandemic.

For Redfield, social distancing is the key to combatting this virus.

“I think the social distancing that the American people all embraced has really led to the reality that we see the overall mortality, while sadly still too high, was far less than we anticipated,” Redfield said. “So this has to be done very carefully.”

Redfield’s comments follow a string of reports about the projection models and their impact on the decisions being made about the country.

On multiple occasions, White House Coronavirus Task Force members Dr. Anthony Fauci and Dr. Deborah Birx have both echoed similar sentiments, as reported on IJR.

Although multiple reports suggest states may be flattening the curve, both Fauci and Birx have expressed the importance of continuing social distancing guidelines out of fear of a resurgence.