White House coronavirus task force returns to briefings, as number of new cases spike

The White House coronavirus task force on Friday will hold its first press briefing in nearly two month, amid increasing virus-infection numbers, including Thursday’s single-day record of 40,000 new cases across the country. 

The task force, officially led by Vice President Mike Pence, held almost daily briefings at the height of the pandemic. The White House says group members have continued to meet, despite not making public appearances, in which President Trump, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci and others updated the public on such key information as the number of infections and deaths and on vaccine prospects and ventilator availability. 

The briefings ended at about the same time states across the country started to gradually reopen, in an effort to restart their struggling local economies and the national economy.

In recent days, the number of virus cases has sharply increased across the South and Southwest, which has resulted in governors in Florida and Texas putting the brakes on their respective state’s gradual re-openings. Despite the increase in the number of infections, the mortality rate connected to the virus has decreased.