COVID-19 Task Force
(Photo : Reuters Connect)

A credible source from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) told a news outlet that the White House has repeatedly denied the agency to hold briefings about the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

reported that the White House denied the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to hold public briefings about COVID-19. 

It can be remembered in the previous report of Latin Post, White House Press Secretary McEnany noted that the White House COVID-19 Task Force will no longer brief the public.

McEnany said the reason behind this was due to the state reopenings. The country is heading towards the reopening of economic activities.

Even though the country is in its economic reopening, the public must still be given information about COVID-19, most especially that the number of infections in the country continues to swell. 

The CDC frequently briefs the public during the early days of the global pandemic. However, the COVID-19 task force was put into silence since March 9. 

A reliable source from CDC told the Yahoo News that they continued to ask approval from the White House to hold briefings. However, they were not given permission. And because of this, they decided to stop asking White House officials.

For McEnany, he said there is no need to hold briefings because there are no big decisions to be announced, unlike the early days when the task force needs to make big announcements related to COVID-19. 

But McEnany stressed that the task force is regularly reviewing the data and is in communication with different state governors. 

She also explained that she is always in contact with Dr. Deborah Birx, the task force coordinator, and she would be the one to brief the public.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the administration's spokesman on the pandemic, has been seen in public for more than two months already. 

Originally, the coronavirus task force briefings were led by Vice President Mike Pence, together with Fauci. However, U.S. President Donald Trump previously appeared in the briefings and then eventually stopped, after he was criticized for touting injecting disinfectant as a treatment.

This is the time when the country's leading specialist and experts should brief the public on COVID-19 updates, including the vaccine, treatment, number of infections, and how to control the virus in the wake of economic reopening.

The minorities, Latino and African-American communities, must also be informed about the global pandemic. There have been calls from different Latino and Hispanic organizations to translate COVID-19 information into Spanish language.

This is the best way that members of the Latino and Hispanic communities in the country can easily understand the coronavirus outbreak. 

Meanwhile, Latino and African-Americans remain to be disproportionately impacted by global pandemic because of their jobs. Most of them work as helpers, grocery store employees, farmers, and more. However, they remain more susceptible to the virus due to a lack of personal protective equipment.

In this time of global pandemic, where there is no guarantee for a safe and effective vaccine, the CDC and other experts must inform and educate everyone across the country on COVID-19 pandemic based on science-driven data. 

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