CDC Director Tells ‘Today’ Co-Host Savannah Guthrie When the US Could Start Reopening Amid Coronavirus Pandemic

The Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Robert Redfield, appeared on the TODAY show on Monday morning to discuss the next steps in the United States’ coronavirus response. Redfield said that he is hopeful that the country is “nearing the peak right now” for the rise in new cases. However, he said that there are many other steps that must be taken before the count can “reopen” and scale back social distancing.

Redfield said that he is hopeful that “we are nearing the peak” of new coronavirus cases in the U.S., but officials will “know for sure when the next day is less than the day before.” NBC News’ Savannah Guthrie pointed out that federal social distancing recommendations are scheduled through May 1, and asked Redfield if he thought it was possible to “reopen the country” that early. Redfield was non-committal, saying that it was not as simple as flipping a switch from off to on.

“I think it’s important to look at the country as many separate situations,” he said. “This pandemic has effected different parts of the country differently. We’re looking at the data very carefully, county by county by county, and we will be assessing that.”

Redfield said the decline in new cases was just one of a handful of “things that need to happen for the reopening.” For others, he said: “we’ve got to substantially augment our public health capacity to do early case identification, isolation, and contact tracing.” He also said the U.S. has to “obviously make sure we have the medical and hospital capacity” to care for those that do get sick.

Finally, Redfield said that the U.S. will have to “aggressively employ” antibody testing — a blood test that can show whether a person has ever had COVID-19. Redfield noted that this will help identify asymptomatic people who may be spreading the virus without opening. However, the real goal, he repeated, is “early case identification, isolation and contact tracing.” He said that developing methods for that will not only allow the U.S. to reopen, but to “stay open,” as the pandemic will go on for months until a vaccine can be developed.

On social media, both Guthrie and Redfield were criticized for over-simplifying issues in this interview. Many people noted that the peak of new cases for the U.S. as a whole does not apply to many parts of the country that still have coronavirus on the rise. Additionally, many criticized Redfield’s statement that antibody testing would provide “consumer confidence, since it is still not clear whether the virus can be contracted more than once. A report by The New York Times on Monday noted that there is a small and dubious amount of data whether people who have had COVID-19 are immune to it or not.

“There’s no doubt that we have to reopen correctly,” Redfield said. “It’s going to be a step-by-step, gradual process. It’s got to be data-driven. I think it will be community by community — county by county. We’ve all sacrificed a substantial amount, and I do want to thank the American people… This has to be done very carefully.” For the latest information on the coronavirus pandemic, visit the CDC’s website.