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Those who traveled to see their families over Thanksgiving weekend should “assume” they have been infected by COVID-19, according to a top expert.
White House coronavirus task force coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx delivered the warning after a weekend of busy travel across the country.
Birx made the comments during an interview with CBS anchor Margaret Brennan on Face the Nation.
“We know people may have made mistakes over the Thanksgiving time period,” Birx said. “If you’re young and you gathered, you need to be tested about five to 10 days later. But you need to assume that you’re infected and not go near your grandparents and aunts and others without a mask.
“We’re really asking families to even mask indoors if they chose to gather during Thanksgiving and others went across the country or even into the next state.”
Birx urges people who traveled to be extra careful in the coming weeks.
“To every American, this is the moment to protect yourself and your family,” she said. “So if your governor or your mayor isn’t doing the policies that we know are critical — masking, physical distancing, avoiding bars, avoiding crowded indoor areas — if those restrictions don’t exist in your state, you need to take it upon yourself to be restricted. You need to not go to these places. You need to protect your family now.”
The coronavirus mainly comes from animals and a majority of those who were infected early either worked at or frequently visited the Huanan seafood wholesale market in Wuhan, according to The Guardian. The virus is similar to Severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) and Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome (Mers).
The Wuhan coronavirus is transmitted from person to person through “droplet transmission.” That means an infected person can pass the virus by sneezing or coughing on another person as well as by direct contact.
While a majority of the cases have been detected in the United States and China — with more than 13.4 million confirmed cases and 267,000 deaths in the United States — it has now reached many countries around the world. It has also been confirmed in Italy, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, and many other eastern countries.
