Disease experts weigh in on crowded White House coronavirus briefings
On April Fools' Day in the White House, inside the infamously cramped James S. Brady Press Briefing Room, reporters sat spaced three seats apart at the day's coronavirus press briefing. Meanwhile, General Mark A. Milley (Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the highest-ranking officer in the United States military), the U.S. Attorney General, the Secretary of Defense, President Donald Trump, and others crowded behind the lectern to provide Americans an update on the rapidly spreading coronavirus.
These Coronavirus Task Force briefings, often indoors, have been occurring regularly for nearly a month, after starting in late February. An average of 8.5 million Americans tune in on TV, and the briefings are live-streamed on YouTube. Political, military, and public health leaders crowd into small areas, during a time when the CDC urges Americans to stay six feet from each other to avoid catching, or transmitting, the microbe.
Infectious disease experts say this public, televised crowding is a negligent show of public health behavior amid the pandemic, and gives irresponsible social distancing guidance to Americans. With a vaccine still about a year away at earliest, and testing still lagging far behind other nations, social distancing is a primary weapon in curbing the relentless spread of the coronavirus, which results in the respiratory disease COVID-19.
"This is at a minimum sending the wrong and discordant messaging to the public," said Jason Farley, a nurse practitioner in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the Johns Hopkins Schools of Nursing and Medicine. "It is only a matter of time before one of them becomes ill with coronavirus given this behavior."
"These people are supposed to be setting a good example — and they’re not setting a good example for the nation," said epidemic expert Suzanne Willard, the associate dean of Global Health at Rutgers School of Nursing.
Other than living on surfaces, the coronavirus travels in respiratory drops that can spread when someone nearby sneezes, coughs — or just talks. There's mounting evidence showing the virus can spread effectively in the air.
"It is possible for viruses to be released into the air from just talking and breathing," said Linsey Marr, an expert in airborne disease transmission at Virginia Tech. "It wouldn't be a lot, but the chance of those viruses landing on someone else or being inhaled by someone else is higher if people are closer together."
White House staff and journalists entering the premises are now given temperature checks, to identify fever, before entering. But up to one in four people may carry the virus without ever showing any symptoms, and it takes an average of five days for an infected person to start showing any symptoms at all. Infected people may be attending these briefings.
Around the world, national leaders like UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Iran's Deputy Health Minister, the UK Health Secretary, and the Prince of Monaco have tested positive.
How should U.S. leaders act during briefings?
At a minimum, the coronavirus task force should underscore, through their actions, that social distancing to curb the spread of disease is critical — for everyone.
"You should lead by example," said Sharona Hoffman, a professor of both bioethics and law at Case Western Reserve University.
"It would be good if they took better precautions, wore masks, and went on stage one at a time," Hoffman said.
The White House Coronavirus Task Force is expected on Friday to recommend Americans now wear face masks in public.
"You should lead by example."
If multiple leaders insist on being onstage at once, they should give each other ample space.
"I think our leaders should model social distancing by standing at least six feet apart during press briefings," said Virginia Tech's Marr.
Farley, of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, recommends going even further.
"[The briefings] should be moved online with the President and his advisors NOT in the room," said Farley, advocating for ending these close-quartered, daily press room interactions. He noted that while reporters in chairs are appropriately spaced six feet apart, on the White House stage these rules go out the window.
The virus doesn't discriminate. Even Anthony Fauci, the venerated director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases who has become the nation's de facto coronavirus leader and calming truth-speaker, could be exposed.
"If Tony Fauci gets sick, that would be catastrophic," said Hoffman.
UPDATE: April 3, 2020, 3:07 p.m. EDT: When reached for comment, a White House representative did not respond to the inquiry but forwarded Mashable to a non-functioning comment line.
Mark was the science editor at Mashable. After working as a ranger with the National Park Service, he started a reporting career after seeing the extraordinary value in educating people about the happenings on Earth, and beyond.
He's descended 2,500 feet into the ocean depths in search of the sixgill shark, ventured into the halls of top R&D laboratories, and interviewed some of the most fascinating scientists in the world.
