Biden COVID advisor: US needs targeted restrictions, not nationwide lockdown
Dr. Vivek Murthy, the co-chair of President-elect Joe Biden's new coronavirus advisory board and former surgeon general, told "Good Morning America" Friday that targeted restrictions in specific areas, not a nationwide lockdown, would be the best path forward to combatting the virus.
"I think that's how we thought about it in the spring, but I think we've learned a lot since then about how this virus spreads and what we can do to reduce risk," he said. "And right now, the way we should be thinking about this is more like a series of restrictions that we dial up or down depending on how bad spread is taking place in a specific region."
He pointed to the success New York City has had in targeting areas down to the zip code. That approach, he said, also helps lessen the blow on the economy and COVID fatigue.
"We're not in a place where we're saying shut the whole country down. We got to be more targeted," Murthy said. "If we don't do that, what you're going to find is that people will become even more fatigued. Schools won't be open to children and the economy will be hit harder, so we've got to follow science, but we've also got to be more precise."
He said to combat the virus, the U.S. will focus on stopping the spread of COVID-19 by zeroing in on the hardest-hit communities and increasing testing.
"We still don't have adequate testing so anyone who wants a test can get one and get results quickly," Murthy told "GMA." "We still don't have enough testing to be able to do surveillance testing in universities and workplaces and in other places that are higher risk like prisons and nursing homes so that is an area where you'll see President-Elect Biden focusing expanding capacity."
States reported 151,000 cases in the U.S. on Thursday, with 67,000 people hospitalized with the virus, according to the COVID Tracking Project. Both figures are records.
