Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House's coronavirus response coordinator, emphasized on Thursday how important it is for all Americans to practice social distancing, saying this is the best way to slow down the spread of coronavirus.It's not enough to use masks, Birx said during a press conference, and even small gatherings of just a few people need to be avoided. The number of confirmed coronavirus cases continues to rise, and Birx said it is imperative that "we change that slope. We have to change the logarithmic curve that we're on. We see country after country having done that, what it means in the
United States is not everyone is doing it."Spain,
Italy,
France, and
Germany are bending their curves, Birx said, and "we can bend ours, but it means everybody has to take the same responsibility as Americans." It's up to everyone to do their part, Birx added, as "we're only as strong as every community, every county, every state, every
American following the guidelines to a T. And I can tell by the curve, and as it is today, that not every American is following it. And so this is really a call to action."More stories from theweek.com Social distancing is going to get darker 5 brutally funny cartoons about Trump's TV ratings boast
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