White House coronavirus task force: ‘We are in a very dangerous place’

Introduction

The White House Coronavirus Task Force warned governors in private reports this week that “the COVID risk to all Americans is at a historic high” and said virus-mitigation efforts in many states are still not strong enough.

“We are in a very dangerous place due to the current, extremely high COVID baseline and limited hospital capacity,” the new reports, dated Nov. 29, read. “A further post-Thanksgiving surge will compromise COVID patient care, as well as medical care overall.”

The task force also issued some of its strongest warnings yet to individual Americans, even though the reports to governors are not made public. It said anyone over age 65 should not enter indoor public spaces with unmasked people and should have groceries and medications delivered. It also said that people under 40 who gathered with others outside their households for Thanksgiving should assume they became infected, isolate themselves and be tested immediately. “You are dangerous to others,” the task force said.

Forty-seven states and the District of Columbia were in the red zone for new cases in this week’s report — one fewer than the week prior — meaning they had more than 100 new cases per 100,000 residents. But 39 states were in the White House’s red zone for deaths — three more than the prior week — meaning they had more than two new deaths per 100,000 residents. North and South Dakota again led the nation in both cases and deaths per capita.

“In many areas of the USA, state mitigation efforts remain inadequate, resulting in sustained transmission,” the task force said. “All states and counties must flatten the curve now.”

The White House has said it does not share the reports publicly because it wants states to lead the pandemic response. The Center for Public Integrity is collecting and publishing the documents. Last week it exclusively obtained the 50-state version of the Nov. 22 reports, revealing that the White House was taking tough stances with many states that refuse to share their reports, including Indiana and South Dakota.

“Improved public observance of social distancing measures is urgently needed to limit overrunning of hospital capacity,” the White House told officials in Indiana. “The Governor’s active engagement and support of mitigation measures are critical.”

The White House reports this week again urged states to do more rapid testing. The task force also urged seniors to get tested immediately if they gathered with others for Thanksgiving and start experiencing symptoms: “If you are over 65 or have significant medical conditions and you gathered outside of your immediate household, you are at a significant risk for serious COVID infection; if you develop any symptoms, you must be tested immediately as the majority of therapeutics work best early in infection,” the reports read.

The states in the red zone for cases in this week’s report (meaning they had more than 100 new cases per 100,000 residents in the week prior):

1. North Dakota
2. South Dakota
3. Wyoming
4. New Mexico
5. Minnesota
6. Iowa
7. Nebraska
8. Indiana
9. Kansas
10. Montana
11. Utah 
12. Wisconsin
13. Alaska
14. Colorado
15. Rhode Island
16. Illinois
17. Ohio
18. Nevada
19. Oklahoma
20. Michigan
21. Idaho
22. Missouri
23. Kentucky
24. Arkansas
25. Pennsylvania
26. Arizona
27. Tennessee
28. West Virginia
29. Delaware
30. New Jersey
31. Connecticut
32. Louisiana
33. Mississippi
34. Massachusetts
35. Maryland
36. Florida
37. Washington
38. Texas
39. California
40. North Carolina
41. New York
42. Alabama
43. Oregon
44. Virginia
45. South Carolina
46. New Hampshire
47. District of Columbia
48. Georgia

The states in the red zone for test positivity in this week’s report (meaning more than 10 percent of tests in the state were positive in the week prior):

1. Idaho
2. Montana
3. Kansas
4. Oklahoma
5. Missouri
6. Utah
7. Iowa
8. Nebraska
9. Nevada
10. Indiana
11. New Mexico
12. South Dakota
13. Ohio
14. Wyoming
15. Michigan
16. Kentucky
17. Tennessee
18. North Dakota
19. Alabama
20. Mississippi
21. Illinois
22. Minnesota
23. Wisconsin
24. Pennsylvania
25. Arizona
26. Colorado
27. Texas

The states in the red zone for deaths (meaning they had more than more than two new deaths per 100,000 residents in the week prior):

1.  South Dakota
2. North Dakota
3. New Mexico
4. Montana
5. Wyoming
6. Iowa
7. Michigan
8. Minnesota
9. Indiana
10. Illinois
11. Wisconsin
12. Nebraska
13. Rhode Island
14. Tennessee
15. Missouri
16. Mississippi
17. Pennsylvania
18. Kansas
19. Colorado
20. West Virginia
21. Arkansas
22. Connecticut
23. Idaho
24. Nevada
25. Louisiana
26. Ohio
27. Texas
28. Maryland
29. New Jersey
30. Oklahoma
31. Alabama
32. Alaska
33. Kentucky
34. Massachusetts
35. Utah
36. Florida
37. South Carolina
38. Arizona
39. North Carolina