Pence says 'it's time' to reopen schools as outbreak continues to rage across US

Vice President Mike Pence leads a White House coronavirus disease task force briefing at the U.S. Education Department in Washington, DC., on July 8. Carlos Barria/Reuters

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will issue new guidance on reopening schools next week after President Trump dismissed their current recommendations as “very tough & expensive."

Speaking at a briefing by the White House coronavirus task force, Vice President Mike Pence said the new guidance would be "part of a five-part series of recommendations that will give all new tools to our schools."

"We’re absolutely determined to work in partnership with our states to give the guidance for states and communities to be able to safely reopen our schools," Pence said.

Still, he repeated a statement made a day earlier by the CDC's director that the agency's guidelines should not act as a barrier to reopening schools.

"As the President made clear yesterday it's time. It's time for us to get our kids back to school," Pence said.

Some context: Earlier Wednesday, Trump accused the CDC of producing “very tough & expensive guidelines for opening schools,” saying he disagreed with the health agency’s recommendations.

“While they want them open, they are asking schools to do very impractical things,” Trump wrote. “I will be meeting with them!!!”

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Vice President Mike Pence said the White House coronavirus task force is focusing their efforts in states where half of the new cases have arisen, including Arizona, Florida and California. Pence said governors have described a need for personnel.

Pence is holding a briefing alongside Dr. Deborah Birx, White House coronavirus response coordinator; Brett Giroir, assistant Secretary for Health; Robert Redfield, the head of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Alex Azar, Health and Human Services secretary; and Betsy DeVos, Education secretary. Those in attendance are wearing masks.

Pence, who took off his mask to speak, is making comments now.

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More than 3 million cases of coronavirus have been reported in the US, according to the latest data from Johns Hopkins University.

The US has the most cases of coronavirus of any country in the world. Brazil — which has more than 1.6 million, according to Johns Hopkins' tally — is the second most impacted country. India had the third most cases, with more than 700,000.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo today laid out the timeline for how the state will make the decisions about reopening schools in the fall.

School districts will submit their plans for reopening by the end of the month, the governor said during a coronavirus briefing today. After that, Cuomo said, the state will "look at the data in that first week" of August and "we'll make a decision" on reopening schools.

Cuomo said that the state "will open the schools if it's safe."

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the state is adding three new states to its quarantine list: Delaware, Kansas and Oklahoma.

That means that travelers from 19 states are required to quarantine for two weeks after they enter New York, Cuomo said. New Jersey and Connecticut are also requiring travelers from those 19 states to quarantine.

After touting low hospitalization and intubation rates in the state, Cuomo said he also had some "bad news" to share.

"Bad news is everything around us, frankly," Cuomo said, noting that a virus "anywhere" means it's a threat everywhere.

Cuomo said that people flying to New York from the 19 states on the quarantine list will be given a form on their flights asking them to report where they're coming from, where they're staying and informing them of the need to quarantine.

People wait in line at the entrance to an amusement pier on July 3 in Wildwood, New Jersey.  Mark Makela/Getty Images

New Jersey will require people to wear face coverings while outdoors when social distancing isn’t possible, Gov. Phil Murphy said on MSNBC this morning.

“You’re going to at least get a warning if not something stronger,” he said.

Murphy is expected to announce an executive order outlining the outdoor face covering policy during his 1:00 p.m. ET news conference, his office told CNN.

Read more about the states requiring people to wear masks when out in public here.

A man is administered a COVID-19 test in his car at a drive-thru testing site in Phoenix on June 27. Matt York/AP

As coronavirus cases in Arizona continue to surge, Mayor Kate Gallego says Phoenix is facing “a huge testing shortage.”

“People have been in line for eight hours in a hot car while they ache, waiting for a test," she said. "We are five months in in the United States of America. People who want a test should not have to wait that long."

Gallego says there is a need for low-barrier testing. She requested the federal government and the Federal Emergency Management Agency for mass testing sites in Phoenix, but that request has been denied.

William Haseltine, a former Harvard Medical School professor, claimed that Arizona is implementing a crisis standard of care, which means, “if you're old, you get sent home without care and you die.”

“Unfortunately, our medical professionals don't have the resources they need and so they are being asked to make difficult decisions,” Gallego said, responding to Haseltine’s comments. She emphasized that people experiencing emergency conditions such as a heart attack should still go to the emergency room and that they will receive care. 

Medical professionals are exhausted and asking for reinforcements, while warning that “the worst is yet to come,” Gallego says.

Vice President Mike Pence and members of the White House coronavirus task force are set to hold a briefing at 11:30 a.m. ET from the Department of Education.

The briefing comes as at least 35 states are seeing an increase in new Covid-19 cases compared to the previous week and as the country nears 3 million cases.

New cases in the US continue to rise at a record rate, with the country reporting more than 60,000 cases yesterday  — its highest single daily count since the pandemic began.

Here's a look at how new cases have progressed over time:

Lines of cars wait at a drive-through coronavirus testing site on July 5 outside Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. Wilfredo Lee/AP

Florida health officials are reporting at least 9,989 new Covid-19 cases for the state on Wednesday, according to data from Florida Department of Health.

The record for the most daily coronavirus cases in a single day in the state, which was set last week, is more than 11,400.