eropational dress, this blue uniform. i wear this proudly and think of that community every day, everybody pitching in across america to help us all. where we are numerically the vice president always said topping 39 million tests across country. the states really crushed their goal in june. the state goals was about 12.9 million in june. cdc numbers have finalized at about 16.5 million tests for june. so congratulations to almost all of the states who made their goal, exceeded their goal. we're doing very well right now, between 7600,000 and 700,000 a day. 637,000 per day we're averaging. right with swabs and media. states tell us what they need. we work with nem to set those goals based on their state testing plans. after technical assistance by the cdc and my office, fema

ships those every week. now that's along with assistant secretary for preparedness and response at hhs. that's sort of the overall general view. we announced yesterday what we talked about a little bit last week, and that is federal surge sites. we opened these in three communities. there was a list of communities identified by dr. birx and her team that had certain characteristics of their infection trend, but also met certain characteristics of numerical numbers in isolation that surge testing might have an impact over a short period of time. our goal in those communities is to do at least 5,000 tests per day, and those are in baton rouge, jacksonville and mccallon. mccallon in texas, and we have many other sites that we're working with. again, this is a partnership with the state and local governments to make that happen. they're up and running and

testing in all three sites. baton rouge started yesterday. the other two sites start today and we already have almost 6,500 appointments already made this morning. so that's going very, very well. the last thing i want to talk about is phoenix and i don't know if we have the slides for this. i get just a little bit concerned when i hear things in the news, like, we're doing nothing for phoenix and the federal government hasn't been doing anything with phoenix, because that really is not correct and undermines a lot of the thinks we're doing. show you slides. i didn't make these slides up. my team, this was part of the 55-slide deck. 55 slides, slide deck just on phoenix, where we understand the demographics, the health dirs parr disparities, income levels, racial and ethnic backgrounds where testing is done, where resources are. where we really warp the issues. first of all we're in constant contact with governor ducey and his team. his state health officials are outstanding. not only doll we talk on the

calls but have frequent calls and ambassador birx does this as well. two, provide support according to the state's plans. in two months shipped over 500,000 swabs and media to the states to fulfill their plans. in turks of phoenix, first slide back, please, i just want to say that yes, we have lots of support in phoenix. this is the community-based testing locations. i didn't decode this because is right out of mire slide deck. phoenix has three federally funded retail sites. this is paid on a per capita basis. you come up, get a test. these sites, not these three sites but overall program tested over a million and in communities of high vulnerability. three are there. also 13 what we call 3.0 sites. retail pharmacies that because of our regulatory flexibility they can do that without a

federal stipend or grant. through insurance and medicaid, medicare billing system. six sites in phoenix. next slide. i don't know about a map to go that under leadership of secretary azar we surged in federally qualified health centers. this is where you really want testing to happen. because these are medical homes for those who are indigent and underserved. we have 28 fqhc sites performing testing just in the phoenix area right now. next slide. we don't have that slide, but let me talk about, also we've identified every single testing machine in phoenix. so there are testing machines to do tens of thousands of tests per day and we're sending at least 100,000, okay -- maybe it will come up, maybe it won't, at least 100,000 to the phoenix area every week. all the things we're doing in the background that happen on a

regular basis that we do community by community by community. now, two days ago i heard that mayor gallego was unhappy because there was no federal support. i heard that on monday morning. i was on the phone with the fema representative in the afternoon. it was clear to me that phoenix was not in tune with all the things the state were doing. we convene add call last night, we had governor ducey's people on the phone, had the mayor's people on the phone, had various health officials on the phone. we got everybody together understood where the gaps are. there's a surge from arizona state. there is a surge in testing sites, state testing sites in phoenix up there. and this morning governor ducey looked at everything, thought a surge site would be helpful in west phoenix. he requested that and we're contracting that right now so i just wanted to give you that example, because it really pains me when somebody says the federal government isn't doing anything when we have 41 federal sites there. we're sending supplies.

we're sending tests. and we work with the governor every day and if there's an appropriate request and on list for dr. birx, it was, we will send a surge site and we're doing that, contracting that this afternoon. thank you. >> thank you, admiral gerard. as we said, the focus today son sa is on safely reopening our schools. we discussed yesterday at the white house summit from very early in this process, the centers for disease control has been issues guidance for schools and for child care services, and in early march. march the 12th, to be specific, and when we first published the 15 days to slow the spread and encouraged people to engage in schooling from home wherever possible from that point forward, cdc has published decision trees about how schools can begin to develop reopening plans, and just last week

published new guidance for k-12 schools. next week as dr. redfield can elaborate, in a few moment, issuing five new documents that will range from preparing communities to return to school safely, to decision-making tools for parents and caregivers, and to create symptom screening considerations as children and teachers are returning to school. but as we made clear yesterday, we'll make clear again today. none of the cdc's recommendations are intended to replace state, local rules and guidance, that what we've made clear to governors and to state and local health officials is cdc stands ready to work with local officials as they tailor their plan for reopening their schools. but we're all committed to getting our kids back into the classroom, getting them back in the classroom this fall. with that i wand the secretary

of education to reflect on the efforts she's making here at the department of education and we'll hear from dr. redfield and a few wrap-up comments from hhs to questions. >> thank you very much, mr. vice president. thanks for hosting the task force here today. we are so grateful to the president and to you for your leadership on doing what's right for students. yesterday we had a really good and important conversation at the white house with local leaders and great teachers and parents. it was insightful and inspiring, and as mrs. pence noted, these past few months, parents have worn multiple hats, really our unsung heroes. as the vice president noted, as are the teachers often playing dual roles as parents themselves and continuing to help their students learn. she also said, mrs. pence also said as we reopen businesses,

restaurants, theaters in our country we simply can't leave out our schools, and that is so correct. students can and must continue to learn full time. i've been really inspired by the innovative teachers, schools and their communities that have kept learning going through this past few months, and they are getting ready to do it again this fall. a couple of great examples in harlem and the surrounding boroughs in new york, sussex academy moved to distance learning in one week using multiple technology platforms. teachers there insisted on, in learning new materials right along with their students. the students were still graded. they made sure all of the students had the needed tech that they did not maybe have at home initially. miami-dade county. used existing instructional continuity plans to make a seamless transition to distance learning. they added interventions for

students who were struggling already before the pandemic. the international leadership academy in texas started from the mind-set that not learning wasn't an option for any student. they delivered multilingual and special education curriculum to all students. there were a number of schools and districts across the country that did an awesome job of transitioning this spring. and there were a lot in which i and state school leaders were disappointed in that they didn't figure out how to continue to serve their students. too many of them just gave up. the center for reinventing public education said only 10% across the board provided any kind of real curriculum and instruction program. and as i said, i've talked to all of the state's school chiefs once, most more than once, and they've told me while many of their districts in their states

have done well through the past several months, a number of them, they were very disappointed in, in doing next to nothing. and then we see as we talk about reopening schools, there are some creating false paradigms for the fall, and here right in our neighborhood, the d.c. area, fairfax county, which is one of the most well-funded, i would call it an elite public school system in america, offered families a so-called choice for this fall. either zero days in school for their students, or two days. and their spring-time attempt at distance learning was a disaster. but i have -- i give this as an example, because things like this cannot happen again in the fall. it would fail america's students and it would fail taxpayers who pay high taxes for their education. ultimately, it's not a matter of if schools should reopen.

simply a matter of how. they must fully open and they must be fully operational. and how that happens is best left to education and community leaders. i really appreciate something that secretary azar reiterated yesterday at the white house. it's a surgeon general's prescription for health care. i'll repeatagain because it bears repeating. first, ask yourself -- what's your individual circumstance? are you or a someone in your home vulnerable? second, what's going on in your community? is the virus widespread or is it isolated? and, third, think about the kind of school activity that you're thinking about how to accommodate and deal with? what needs to be in place for things to be successful? education leaders need to examine real data for their own states and communities and weigh the risks. local leaders in every community need to ask these questions and consider all the risks. physical health and safety are

factors. so is mental health. so is social emotional development. and importantly, very importantly, so are lost opportunities for students. particularly the most vulnerable among us, and students with disabilities. the american academy of pediatrics noted, keeping schools closed places children and adolescence at considerable risk of morbidity and in some cases mortality. the pediatrics guidance concluded that everyone should start way goal of having students physically present in school. fully open and fully operational means that students need a full school year or more. and it's expected it will look different depending where you are. what's clear is that students and their families need more options. i've talked a long time about the need to rethink education. and to expand education options for all students. this moment really demands

action, and america always was and is and always will be a country of doers. we are confident that with grit and determination and a measure of grace, we can and will do what's right for all the students in our nation. thanks very much. >> thank you very much, mr. vice president. first and foremost i want to make it very, very clear that the guidance that cdc continues to put out for schools k-12 and higher learning is intentional for reopening and keeping our schools open. that is, that's its purpose. we recognize that there's a variety of unique circumstances for different schools and different school districts, and so we've outlined a number of strategies that those schools,

those administrators, can use to accomplish this goal safely. but i want to make it very clear that what is not the intent of cdc's guidelines is to be used as a rationale to keep schools closed. we're prepared to work with each school, each jurisdiction, to help them use the different strategies that we've proposed that help do this safely so they come up with the optimal strategy for those schools. i think it's critical and it would be personally very disappointing to me and i know my agency if we saw that individuals were using these guidelines as a rationale for not reopening our schools. i think there is a series of different additional guidelines that we are about to put out, to help really, with the k-12 community. particularly at the community

level, to help open safely. guidelines also that come out, consideration documents for parents and caregivers. guidelines for schools to help them understand how best to do symptom surveillance and characterize symptoms in the schools as a tool, and guidelines to really work at how in the ins and outs of using face masks in the school setting as well as finally some guidance and to help the schools have systems which they were monitor their programs, but i want to close by reiterating again the purpose of cdc's guidance is, remember, it's guidance. it's not requirements. and its purpose is to facilitate the reopening and the keeping open the schools in this country, because as the vice president had said, it is

critical that we get these schools opened, do it safely, we're prepared to work with all the school districts and schools to help them facilitate their development of their own unique plan to accomplish that. thank you. >> thanks, dr. redfield. opening up schools is the right thing to do for our kids. so they don't fall behind academically and also so that children that are in need of services special needs children, children with mental health issues, nutrition needs, have the support that they receive at the schools. it's important, though, for parents and for works families and i asked secretary scalia to be here from the department of labor to speak about the impact on, as we put america back to work, making it possible for us to have single parents back in the workforce. it's essential that we get our schools opened as well.

so i wanted secretary scalia and secretary of hhs to finish our remarks before we go to questions. mr. secretary? >> thank you. mr. vice president, good to be with you all today. for reasons that secretary devos mentioned, and the vice president mentioned, of course, having our schools open is so important to our children's education, but as vice president has said, it's very important as well to working men and women across the country who need to be able to structure their work days in a predictable manner. and the expectation that schools will be open and their children will be able to be in school so that the parents, in turn, can have a predictable xebl ablabl bring to the workplace. important to our business places as well and in that sense critically important to our national reopening. one study has suggested if we closed all of our schools and

day care for just a month, just hypothetically, if we did that, the impact on u.s. productivity would be in the order of $50 billion, that gives you a sense of the impact. having our schools closed can have on our national recovery. i did want to mention a couple of groups in particular. to whom this is very important. first, lower wage workers. one of the great triumphs of the economy that we enjoyed until the virus came was how well lower income men and women were doing in the workplace. we, as you know, had unemployment at a 50-year low. record low unemployment for african-american americans, hispanic-americans and others and rising wages. wages actually rose about 15% for lower income men and women during the first three years of this administration. unfortunately, and a number of people observed this, it's the lower income workers who have

been particularly adversely affected by some of the shutdowns we've had in response to the coronavirus. unemployment among the lower income workers has been higher than for other populations. and, therefore, for them, having schools reopen so that they can themselves have predictable schedules, be able to return to the workplace is going to be very important. they hold jobs that are less likely to be jobs by which you can tell -- i think many know you can telecommute. burdens place and mothers, fathers, getting up earlier staying up a lot later to get work done to plan around caring for their children in the interim, but for lower income men and women, that option often is not even available. and then second, let me talk briefly on working women who studies show and i think experience many of us reflects that it's women in the household who quite often bear the larger

burden when it comes to caring for children. studies show this. and, again, prior to covid, another great success of the economy we're enjoying was the employment rate for women. the unemployment rate for women was actually lower than for men right before the virus came, but unfortunately, and this is a stick we've been tracking. we see that the unemployment rate for women now is higher than it is for men now. we made great progress in june. the vice president mentioned the extraordinary jobs report. we've put 7 .5 million americans back to work in just two months, and the unemployment rate for women dropped nearly 3%. in june. but, still, we have important work to do, and we know that working women will have a harder time getting back to the workplace. they continue to cite child care at a much higher rate than men as a reason they're not able to work, and so for them, too,

reopening our schools will be very important. just to wrap up, you know, such an important sense, the pace and structure of our national life is built around the expectation that our young people will be in school. in person during the school year. that's so important for them, but it's also vitally important for their parents. in that sense, so critical to this reopening that is preceding very well economically. but to keep going we need our schools open in the fall. thank you very much. >> thank you. mr. secretary? >> well, thank you very much, mr. vice president, for your leadership of the president's all of america approach to combating the virus, and for the focus you are now putting on getting our kids safely back to school. from hhs's perspective reopening

schools safely may be the single most important thing that we can do to support healthy families during this pandemic. all decisions about undertaking activities during covid-19 have to look at risk as a continuum. not a binary question. states and school districts can think about the same things that we urge individuals to think about. as secretary devos noted our surgeon general came out with a prescription for health. ask yourselves three critical questions. where are you? is there significant community transmission of the virus in your area? whom are we talking about? children are much less susceptible to severe outcomes from the virus than adults. and what activities are we looking at? there are more and less risky activities for schools like keeping kids in the same classroom versus changing classes. avoiding large gatherings. and doing activities outside, whenever possible. reopening schools comes with some risk.

but there are risks to keeping kids at home, too. at home, kids aren't benefitting from social stimulation. they may be falling behind in learning. they may be more vulnerable to abuse that goes unreported by the mandatory reporters in our school system. they may not be getting special services they may need. they may not be getting the nutrition that they get at school, and it may be difficult for parents to get back to worth. this issue like so many considerations around safely reopening isn't about health versus the economy. but about health versus health. all of this is why the american academy of pediatrics is strongly recommended beginning with the goal of having students physically present in school. this goal is the right way to use the extensive guidance that cdc put out to help each state and school district think through a safe reopening. last week we put out guidance around testing for k-12 schools.

this guidance like our guidance for colleges and universities offers recommendations for how and when students, teachers and staff should be tested. while cdc does not make a recommendation in favor of universal testing, it's a perfectly appropriate surveillance technique where the capacity exists a s xpaft i s c growing all the time. talked to researchers, pooling of multiple samples to test their whole student bodies and staff frequently thanks to regulatory flexibility that cms and the fda provided. many leaders we heard from yesterday at the white house school reopening summit are doing testing before returning to school, inall surveillance. keep ag distance, wear ag face covering and frequent hand-washing are effective and can be applied in the college or the k-12 setting.

we put out the cdc guidance to enable and support states and school districts in reopening safely. we want them to use the tools available to reduce risk, and we'll put out more guidance how schools can use each of these tools, sump as face covering. on top of that, i will reiterate or set of tools is expanding all of the time. just yesterday we signed a new agreement with regeneron providing nearly half a billion some support for a promising therapeutic hundreds of millions of doses for the american people. the initial doses pending approval would be available as soon as the end of this summer or early fall. that is the first of a number of therapeutic agreements we will do under the president's "operation warp speed" initiative. promising therapeutic are already being administered every day by our heroic health care workers. i thank these heroes to continue to put themselves at risk caring for those suffering from the virus.

we know many frontline workers have gotten sick, and we know some have given their lives including some of my employees in the indian health service and america is deeply grateful. it is because we are making progress against the virus and learning more about it every day we can talk how to bring america's kids and teachers back to school safely. we have the tools to do it. and it has to be a top priority. thank you to president trump and the vice president for putting such a focus on this very important aspect of our road to recovery. thank you. >> thank you. thank you. right here. please. >> mr. vice president, in the president's call to reopen schools is there a situation in some states that the health situation doesn't allow for this? where you would are supportive of some states continuing distance learning and we now see

the president threatening to cut off funding for schools? is that a serious threat and what would that look like? >> well, the principle behind our approach to this coronavirus pandemic has been to provide federal support as states manage their own response. and what i can tell you is in the weekly reports that we provide governors, we are down to the county level in terms of where the new cases are, where the positivity lies. and i think we would account for the fact that while we hope, we hope every school in america is able to open this fall, there may be some states and local communities that, that given cases or positivity in that community may adjust to either a certain set of days, or certain limitations, and we'll be very respectful of that. what the president has made clear, though is that we think it's absolutely imperative that

every state and territory in this country make -- make steps, and take steps, rather, to get kids back in the classroom to the fullest extent possible. we really believe that every state has the ability to do that, but for those individual communities that may be seeing outbreaks, we'll work with them, give them the guidance, and the support to be able to implement the policies they deem moat appropriate. our mission, open all the schools and you heard from all members of our task force it's jot nuft about kids learning and not falling behind academically. it's about all the vital services children receive at our schools, it's about working families, it's about opening up america again. so we'll continue to drive on that. on your second point, i would tell you that at this point, i think 90% of education funding

comes from the states, roughly 10% depending on states' budgets, come from the federal government. and as we work with congress on the next round of state support, we're going to be looking for ways to give states a strong incentive and encouragement to get kids back to school. please? go ahead. >> thank you, mr. vice president. the president tweeted this morning that he disagrees with the cdc's very tough and expensive guidelines for reopening schools. do you also disagree with those guidelines? and are you concerned that you may be putting the health of students and teachers at risk by trying to meet the president's demand to reopen? >> well, the president and i spoke about that this morning. and i think what you will see in the coming days, what you heard from dr. redfield yesterday at the summit and again today is very consistent with the

president's objective and the concerns that he's raised. we don't want the guidance from cdc to be a reason why schools don't open. we want to partner with states, with local education officials, with governors, with local health officials, to find a way to meet their needs to open up. i think the president's statement this morning was simply reflective of that desire, and, but we remain very confident as we continue to provide resources, we're seeing not just k-12 education. i mean, all 47 states and 2 territories have already published plans and guidance for reopening their schools, and we reiterated to the governors earlier this week and again at the summit yesterday that we're really here to partner with them, to achieve that. i think what the president was saying this morning is that if there are aspects of the cdc's recommendations that are prescriptive, or that serve to,

as a barrier to kids getting back to school, we want, we want governors and local officials and education leaders to know that we're here to work with them. to support the measures they are putting into place, but i -- i think every american, every american, knows that we can safely reopen our schools and we just want, we want -- we want, as the president said this morning to make sure that what we're doing doesn't stand in the way of doing that. go ahead. >> follow-up. when talking about the health of children, though, shouldn't the guidance be tough and should know expense spared? >> well, i'm going to ask bob redfield to speak to that. one of the things we have seen and i'll tell you, as a parent, as much as your vice president, and head of this task force, i've been -- i've been grateful for it, that apart from having

an underlying health condition, children do not appear to be susceptible to serious illness from the coronavirus. dr. birx can speak to that statistically on a global basis and that's been a blessing for americans and american families. and so as secretary azar just said we know that risk of serious illness tochildrenis very low, and there are measures we can put into place to make sure that we don't -- we don't see the -- the spread of the virus or outbreaks in individual schools by having children learn in a single classroom or learn outside as often as possible and not go into larger settings, and this is all the kind of guidance that the cdc is putting forward, but -- but i'm going to let bob redfield speak to that, because -- we -- we really do believe that we can open these schools safely, given the --

what we've seen in terms of outcomes among children, and also the kind of measures that we think we can put into effect, too. to prevent the spread. >> thank you, mr. vice president. i think it's really important to be clear that our recommendations to open these schools are really based on the sound public health and safety and health of children. i think you heard already from some of the speakers, there's substantial health consequences that we've seen as a consequence of schools being closed, whether it's access to mental health services, or it's access to nutrition. clearly, we know a lot, and i think it's important that we don't react emotionally, but we act based on data. clearly the ability of this virus to cause significant

illness in children is very, very, very limited. we know of the post-immune inflammatory disease you've heard about, but it's very rare, but in general, this virus does not cause significant illness in children. secondly, and i think it's important, unlike influenza, where one of our biggest concerns is we've been able to show that it's really schools and children that become the instrument of transmission throughout our community, with influs enz influenza we don't have evidence children are driving the cycle of this. the most important thing as we reopen schools and as i mentioned before, we're prepared to work with every school and every school district to help them find the right mixture of strategies for them to do this safely. our recommendations are not requirements. and they're not meant to be prescriptive. we have lots of different options on how the schools can put it together.

bha what we do want to reiterate, remember protecting the vulnerable nap we will be strong on. it's important to limit the ability of individuals with significant co-morbidities, individuals that happen to be elderly with co-morbidities. we want to limit those individuals, their interactions in general isn't society independent of the schools. >> thanks, bob. >> let me say just also in response to your question. i would recommend every american review the statement issued by the american academy of p pediatri pediatrics. that released an important report indicating that there are real physical and mental cause for children to be deprived of an in-classroom setting. ranges from nutrition to children that have special

needs. we heard from dr. mccann's cast that some 7 million children in america deal with mental health issues and the services and couping thcoup icoup -- counsel they receive at their schools. we want to put the children's health first, and as the doctor said, do not appear to be susceptible to serious outcomes from the coronavirus. we want to put totality of this health and education moving forward and it tells us and tells the task force we need to get our kids back to school. please? >> considering the problem and risks students face if they stay home from school in the fall. but what's the plan increased ppe if needed to support the schools? schools weren't built for students to socially distance. they were built in pack in at

many kids and humanly possible. why fairfax and districts in new york and texas moved to this hybrid approach. virtual and some in-person learning. what's the plan? i question for dr. birx and kids and covid, if i may. >> the plan is what we've done from the very beginning. you heard again this morning, we are at i believe 39 million tests that have been performed all across this country. you heard admiral gerard describe the extraordinary commitment in one community alone and what we've conveyed to governors is whatever support they need to get kids back to school we'll make sure they have. the testing resources. currently we're educating states on the possibility and working with commercial labs and the possibility what's called pooling. so that literally there could be one test run on say ten samples and there are particularly universities that already have built into their plans the idea

of testing all of their students at the beginning of the academic year and doing surveillance testing. we've made it very clear whether it's testing, whether personal protective equipment, or other resources that we stand ready to provide those resources to the states and we reiterated that once again to the governors, but the good news is, because of the historic mobilization that president trump initiated, we literally have hundreds of millions of supplies and personal protective equipment, 59,000 ventilators in strategic national stockpile. testing is scaling all across america, and we know come the school year we'll be ready to meet those needs. a question? >> dr. birx, what's the infection rate among children and the very latest in terms that you know in terms how the virus presents in children? how children transmit the virus to older adults?

nearly one-third of teachers across this country of age 50 and older. what's the best practice in terms of testing children? i've never heard of a case where a school child is tested for covid-19. >> those are all good questions and i think it really comes to the evidence base and what do we have as far as testing in children? so if you look across all of the tests that we've done and whether, when we had the age, the portion that is lowest tested portion is the under 10-year-olds. so we're putting in to place other ways to -- get testing results from them and looking at antibody in that discarded samples to try to fairly figure this out, because parents have really done an amazing job of protecting their children. i think americans have done a great job in keeping infection rates low in children, and in the sheltering time and keeping infection rates right now in this new cases originally i think we saw great protection of

people with co-morbidities, we are worried now as cases spread it's getting to the older parents and the grandparents, and i call on again every multigenerational household, get tested and protect those in the household. we know there are children with vulnerabilities and within the cdc plan and department of education it's protecting those children also from getting exposes to the virus, because we do know there are children with co-morbidities and children in america with cancer and undergoing chemotherapy. but when you ask that question, parents so protected their children and remember early on we said testing of symptoms and now under 18, majority of you don't have symptoms. so really figuring out and there's universities working around the country on saliva tests. it would be easier for children to put saliva in a tube to basically what we call spitting in a tube, spitting through a straw into a tube. and looking at that kind of innovation and testing.

what admiral gerard has been working on very hard is this antigen-based testing and getting that equipment in to the vulnerable areas like nursing homes, assisted living and other places, but also considering how a school district could use that would make it much easier to test and to use saliva. all of those worked and an why we've been pushing on the antigen tests. you heard me talk about that in april. we're pushing on that because we think it is important for testing of students and testing in universities. but we have the -- our data is skewed. originally to people with symptoms and skewed to adults over 18. we're looking closely into that category by using our anti-body tests. oh -- i think the vice president covered that incredibly well. we know mortality rate in under 25 from the cdc data is less

than 0.1%. that's holding's until we know how many are infected we have no evidence that there is significant mortality in children without co-existing diseases. that's what we're looking for right now. to really make sure we've overturned every rock and understand that in detail. >> right here. >> mr. vice president, we all know the cdc guidelines are not requirements. they're advice. >> right. >> and isn't the president, when he calls it too tough or impractical making it easier for americans and school officials to ignore that advice? >> well, i -- i have every confidence that governors and state education officials and local held officials are going to implement policies they think are in the best interests of children and families. and i think the president's sentiment this morning i think

is shared widely by the american people and certainly by members of this task force. we want to make it very clear that -- that -- excuse me -- the guidance we're issuing is not to supplant the laws, the rules, regulation and decisions at the state level. it's meant to create essentially a range of options, and what we made clear to governors on the governors' call this week specifically was that we are prepared at the cdc to sit down with state officials and to work through their plan, and be able to advise and dialogue with them about, about the best way forward, but i -- i -- i must tell you that in this role over the last four months, i've been impressed by governors in both political parties, and health

officials in all of our states and our territories where they put the health of their people first, but i must also say that i have a great sense talking to governors and a great sense that this is a -- something the american people want to see happen and governors are hearing that, know that and that's why 47 states that have already issued plans or guidelines and we're going to work with them that make that a reality. >> last question, guys. >> one for dr. redfield. can you explain why the president is threatening to cut funding from schools at a time when educators are saying they need more so they can safely reopen? >> kaitlan, first and foremost, what the heard from the president is just a determination that provides leadership we're going to get our kids back to school because that's where they belong, and we

know based upon what our best health officials say. to be clear, the c.a.r.e.s. act provided $13.5 billion to support education in the states in the midst of the pandemic. we're going to work with congress and expect additional support there. the president is very serious for all reasons we discussed today. he believes and we believe it's absolutely essential for our children's academic development and for their social and emotional and health and nutrition needs to be back in the classroom, and we're going to provide the leadership from the federal level to do that. that being said, i will tell you. i sense a great desire among governors around the country to find a way forward, and we made it very clear to them we're going to partner with them providing them with resources to

impact that and also the supplies. >> you're describing the local decision. so shouldn't it be up to them to decide if they can safely eopen and not the president saying he's going to pressure them to do so? >> well, i -- look, we are going to respect those unique communities, and they have challenges, rising cases or rising positivity. and -- but -- i think you look at nation as a whole, and put the president of the united states, what he's made clear is he thinks as we reopen america we need to reopen america's schools. he said he wanted our places are worship back open again. you're seeding the president provide leadership and what we are providing for the white house coronavirus task force is partnership with the governors and the state health officials, because we just got to get -- got to get our kids back. i -- i have to tell you. the best expert i know on this topic is my wife karen.

and she spoke at the summit yesterday, very compellingly. about how a lot of our kids are hurting out there. they're struggling with loneliness, with social isolation. the american academy of pediatrics spoke about that, a very forceful statement from pediatricians across the country that said we got to get our kids back into school. what you're going to see, kaitlan, the president is going to continue to provide leadership. i expect as the debate in congress goes forward about additional resources we're going look to build in incentives for states to go forward, but the president's made it clear. and i think most parents in america would agree with him. that we've got to got other kids back to school and back into the classroom and we can do it in a safer and a responsible way. >> that's okay. >> [ inaudible ]. >> dr. redfield, talking about the guidance the cdc put out.

sounds like you think it is in the best interests of students and ways to safely reopen schools so far. so are you going to change that guidance, because the president said he does not like it? >> well i think i just want to reiterate we're going to continue to work with the local states and jurisdictions. i think the guidance we put out gives a, a series of different strategies for them to consider. what is the most appropriate in their unique situation to adopt, again, and i want to come back to the goal. the goal of this is to get schools reopened. i did mention, and i want to reiterate, that goal is just not a goodell to reopen schools. that's a goal because we believe that's in the best public health interests of the students for the reasons you've heard. we will continue to develop and evolve our guidance to meet the needs of the schools and the states that we continue to provide that assistance to.

>> thanks, guys. thank you, guys. >> i -- i'm sorry. i can't hear your question. go ahead? >> and guidance -- the guidance recommends that schools have social distancing of students six feet apart and why the schools are adopting hybrid models because they don't feel they can keep students six feet apart within their buildings. is that particular part of the guidance something you're rethinking or support social distancing inside schools? that's where i think the schools are having trouble. >> the president said today we just don't want the guidance to be too tough and the reason next week cdc will issue a new set of tools. five different documents that will be giving even more clarity on the guidance going forward. but we know each school system, you know, has unique capabilities. different facilities, and, well

what parents around country should know is that we're here to help. here to work with their governors with their local education foishofficials to get kids back to school. truth of the matter is, as we reopen america we've got to reopen our schools. for the well-being of our kids, for their academic advancement, for working families, but also as you've heard again today, for, to continue the momentum that we see in this economy that we saw last week with nearly 5 million jobs created. i want to promise the american people we're going to stay focused at this task force on saving lives, meeting the needs of our state and health care workers on protecting the vulnerable, and reopening america's economy, schools, work and worship. so -- thank you all very much. talk to you in a few days. all right. you've listened to the white house coronavirus task force

briefing. first in two weeks. let me bring in cnn medical analyst dr. seema yasmin, sitting here along with me watching this. i just wanted to get your take, a lot said there, what did you hear? >> so i see a lot of cherry picking of data. we hear the vice president say we're beginning to see early indicators of the curve flattened in arizona. talking about the ramping up of testing. but not putting this in a really helpful national context. actually only three states see ag decline in cases. 35 states seeing increase and 8 states registering record-high numbers. also being dmoun florida. i'm worried about the cherry picking of that data point because florida is not only a hot spot it's the epicenter of america's pandemic, and what he

did not mention was that at least 56 hospitals in florida have icus at 100% capacity. so i really worry that we're only hearing one side of the story, that we're seeing a very positive spin on an absolutely tragic situation. >> stand by. dana bash, listening along with me. a big focus of this briefing was on schools opening up schools. the vice president saying, multiple times, the schools must be reopened. but it's interesting the cdc standing up there, head of the cdc standing up there saying that the cdc guidelines now are not meant to be prescriptive. hair n not r50ir7equirements and not a reason to reopen. are they backing away from what they put out? >> possibly. we'll know the real answer to that when, as the vice president announced at this briefing, the cdc puts out new guidelines on

schools. look, this is -- this is difficult. i mean, this is possibly one of the biggest challenges that the american people including leaders, including teachers, including parents and as the labor secretary, kind of nice to hear a-an acknowledgement of the fact women are bearing the brunt of this across the country. this is so hard. kate, i'm sure you're hearing this. you're a parent. i'm a parent. i was on a conference call with my son's school about this fall going forward. one thing they admitted which was part of some of the questioning there, it is the faculty that is very concerned. concerned about how this is all going to work. they are relying on cdc guidelines. even though as redfield said they are not prescriptive or requirements. the one really important line of questioning we heard i think from a couple of reporters, that they didn't have a good answer to, is social distancing.

when it comes to schools. and the whole reason why, as a matter of fact, fairfax county, for example, which the education secretary called that one not in a good way saying they would go back a couple of days a week, because they can't physically fit kids in the school buildings in a safe way. other thing i want to point out. i wonder what dr. yasmin said. struck me about you, kate, the argument they made, pretty forcefully, on one hand, that children are not only not getting sick, but that they are -- there's no evidence that children are pushing forward the transmission cycle. but then dr. birx later said, that they haven't done enough testing on children. so that is -- i thought -- >> hitting on certainly. >> -- uncertainty. >> right. a third layer added. all schools need to reopen but same time, dr. birx, dr. yasmin, also announced they would like these hot spot states to

essentially go back to phase one now, which is shutting back down. how do you open schools when you want them to shut back down? >> right. it's so confusing. actually, what cdc has previously produced is this nine-page checklist with details how to clean schools, do physical distancing but also different guidelines for different contacts. for example, a school in dallas county, texas, see ag massive surge, versus a school somewhere in massachusetts, the state broadly seeing decline in casas. also what we saw, she didn't give a clear answer to that question. the reason for that probably is because we just don't know. mih right now is doing a really big study called the h.e.r.o.e.s. study trying to understand the role of children in the spread of this virus. it's too soon to say exactly what role they play, and almost i want, have to listen again, if the vice president misspoke a tiny bit, because he almost made it sound as if kids were not susceptible to serious manifestations. broadly speaking, kids do die a

much lower rate, don't get as sick but it's important to remember that some kids get very, very sick. i just want to add really broadly that having worked at cdc, what goes in to producing guidelines like these are thousands of hours of hundreds of staffers many of them pediatricians or parents themselves, passing through and scrutinizing the latest data to come up with recommendations based on evidence, based on science. to them, cdc director downplayed his own agency's guidance. that's shocking to me. >> bring in cnn's less beth c ' cohen. you listened closely. what stuck out to you? >> confusing. dr. yasmin said. dr. birx, go back to the way it was, no gathering, less than ten people, something to that effect. on the other hand, must open

schools. overriding message, absolutely must open up schools everywhere. also don't want groups to gather more than groups of ten. how does that make sense? and this administration emphasized over and over again states and localities should be able to basically do their own thing, make their own decisions. why in the world is the federal government telling miami and montana to do the same thing? to open up schools, come what may? that doesn't make any sense. this is something tony fauci really is passionate about when i've spoken to him and he's spoken to others. the united states is a huge place. what's going on in miami could not be anymore different than what's going on in montana. why are they giving this same demand, really, that you have to open up schools just like, you know, as it was before? you need to open up schools in person. what rye di did not hear, solut. if i were the parent of a child with diabetes or as na i would listen to this and throw up my hand and say, what am i supposed

to do? if i were a teacher with hypertension or heart disease, i would be petrified. i didn't hear a lot of solutions here. >> dana, elizabeth hit og someone important as well. a point saying a lot but saying very little. vice president said we need to get to a place of reopening, work in partnership with communities, her clearly left open the possibility to states not to reopen if they saw they were in one of these hot spots. again, i'm left with wondering, what the plan is? from the task force. >> i don't have an answer, kate. you know, you just talked to two very, very smart, capable women, particularly in this field, and they were confused by it. and i -- in fairness, i think part of the issues is that there is no clear answer yet. what they said, all of the things that they're saying are true at the same time. it is very, very difficult for

students to, for kwids-oids to home. bat f bad for them and opening up the economy. >> the only clear thing, one thing that won't help, less funding, that the president is threatening trying to pull funding. very clear that was coming out of that. thank for being with us. i'm brooke baldwin. cnn's brianna keilar picks up our coverage, right here. kate, thank you so much. continuing this special coverage i'm brianna keilar. coronavirus cases in the u.s. have now surpassed 3 million as the nation experiences the highest daily case count since the pandemic started. just over 60,000 reported in a single day, yet a short time ago the vice president, the man who leads the white house coronavirus task force said this -- >> we are actually seeing early