89°F
weather icon Clear
Las Vegas, NV
Nation and World

US task force leader says pandemic in new phase

White House coronavirus response coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx participates in a roundtable on d ...
White House coronavirus response coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx participates in a roundtable on donating plasma at the American Red Cross national headquarters on Thursday, July 30, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
A man prays with only a few other parishioners as a measure to prevent the spread of COVID19 du ...
A man prays with only a few other parishioners as a measure to prevent the spread of COVID19 during Mass at the Our Lady of Consolation Parish on Sunday, Aug. 2, 2020, in Quezon city, Philippines. Coronavirus infections in the Philippines continues to surge Sunday as medical groups declared the country was waging a losing battle against the contagion and asked the president to reimpose a lockdown in the capital. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
Parishioners wearing masks as a measure to prevent the spread of COVID19 pray during a Mass at ...
Parishioners wearing masks as a measure to prevent the spread of COVID19 pray during a Mass at the Our Lady of Consolation Parish on Sunday, Aug. 2, 2020, in Quezon city, Philippines. Coronavirus infections in the Philippines continues to surge Sunday as medical groups declared the country was waging "a losing battle" against the contagion and asked the president to reimpose a lockdown in the capital. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
People cross the streets in Tokyo Sunday, Aug. 2, 2020. Confirmed coronavirus cases are hoverin ...
People cross the streets in Tokyo Sunday, Aug. 2, 2020. Confirmed coronavirus cases are hovering at near record levels in Japan, raising worries the pandemic may be growing more difficult to control. The Tokyo government reported more than 290 new cases Sunday, about half in their 20s. (Kyodo News via AP)
More Stories
Law enforcement investigates a shooting at Target off Research Boulevard, near Ohlen Road in Au ...
Fatal shooting at a Target in Texas leaves 3 dead, suspect detained
Emergency crew gather after an explosion at the Clairton Coke Works, a U.S. Steel coking plant, ...
1 dead, dozens hurt or trapped after explosion at US Steel plant in Pennsylvania
President Donald Trump speaks with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the Whit ...
Trump says he’s placing Washington police under federal control and deploying the National Guard
FILE - A board outlining the case against Ghislaine Maxwell is seen during a news conference to ...
Grand jury testimony that indicted Ghislaine Maxwell won’t be unsealed, judge says
The Associated Press
August 2, 2020 - 11:26 am
 

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — White House coronavirus task force leader Dr. Deborah Birx says widespread coronavirus infections in urban and rural America mark a “new phase” for the pandemic as she doubled down on calls to wear face masks and observe social distancing measures.

Birx, speaking on CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday morning, said “What we are seeing today is different from March and April. It is extraordinarily widespread.”

The United States has the world’s biggest number of cases at 4.6 million, or one-quarter of the total, and 154,361 deaths. Birx said mitigation efforts across the west and the south are beginning to work but warned that people need to take the virus seriously and employ significant safety precautions when cases first begin to tick up.

MOST READ
Don't miss the big stories. Like us on Facebook.
THE LATEST
Law enforcement investigates a shooting at Target off Research Boulevard, near Ohlen Road in Au ...
Fatal shooting at a Target in Texas leaves 3 dead, suspect detained
By NADIA LATHAN Associated Press

A gunman opened fire Monday in a Target store parking lot in the Texas capital, killing at least three people, then stole two cars during a getaway that ended with police using a Taser to detain him on the other side of the city, authorities said.

President Donald Trump gestures during a trilateral signing ceremony with Armenian Prime Minist ...
Trump says he will meet Putin next Friday in Alaska
By Will Weissert and Vasilisa Stepanenko Associated Press

President Donald Trump said Friday that he will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin next Friday in Alaska to discuss ending the war in Ukraine, a potential major milestone after expressing weeks of frustration that more was not being done to quell the fighting.

In this photo provided by NASA, astronaut James Lovell, Apollo 13 Commander, is shown in his sp ...
Apollo 13 moon mission leader James Lovell dies at 97
By Don Babwin The Associated Press

It was during his last mission — immortalized by the popular film starring Tom Hanks — that he came to embody for the public the image of the cool, decisive astronaut.

Read More
MORE STORIES