White House Economic Adviser Larry Kudlow claims “no second wave” of coronavirus is coming despite the number of confirmed cases increasing in several states across the U.S.
During an interview on CNBC, Kudlow appeared to downplay the accelerated spread of the virus as he insisted there are just “hot spots” that the country knows “how to deal with.”
According to Kudlow, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will be dispatching teams to states where hotspots are arising.
“There are some hot spots. We’re on it. We know how to deal with this stuff now, we’ve come a long way since last winter and there is no second wave coming,” Kudlow said on Monday morning.
Kudlow claims he has been told 37 states are having “virtually no problems” and only the remaining 13 states have “hotspots.”
“Over the weekend, there are 37 states that have virtually no problems.
There are 13 states that do have hot spots. By the way, part of that is massive new testing — we run 500,000 tests per day — so you’re going to pick up some,” he said.
See Kudlow’s remarks below:
There are some coronavirus hotspots in the U.S., NEC Director Larry Kudlow says, but “there is no second wave coming.” https://t.co/wl7f4KA0NV pic.twitter.com/ZdFOa7hn07
— CNBC (@CNBC) June 22, 2020
Kudlow shared decreasing statistics on case rates in multiple states as he noted the largest decrease of approximately 80% in Michigan on case rates.
However, it is important to note that Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s (D) stay-at-home orders were among the longest and strictest orders —decisions she was previously criticized for, as previously reported on IJR.
Kudlow then shifted to the U.S. economy as he touted the progress that has been made toward economic growth.
“All in all, I think it’s a pretty good situation and of course reopening the economy is the key to economic growth and we’ve had a whole bunch of green shoots that are showing recovery probably coming on faster than a lot of people thought,” Kudlow said.
While Kudlow insisted the “positivity rate” for the coronavirus is still fairly low since cases remain under 10%, nationwide, he also admitted he is not a health expert.
Despite Kudlow’s claims, 27 states are currently seeing increases of at least 5% in coronavirus cases, with it now projected that Florida could become the next coronavirus epicenter.
The White House also confirmed preparation for the possible second wave that could happen in the fall. During an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union” with Jake Tapper, White House trade adviser Peter Navarro outlined the preparations that are being made.
“We are filling the stockpile in anticipation of a possible problem in the fall. We are doing everything we can beneath the surface, working as hard as we possibly can,” Navarro said on Sunday.
As of Monday morning, there are more than 2.3 million positive coronavirus cases in the U.S. The death toll stands at 122,318.
