U.S. Surgeon General Tells Baltimore Stopping COVID-19 Is Possible Ahead Of Vaccine: 'Power Is In Your Hands'
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- The U.S. Surgeon General Vice Admiral Jerome M. Adams addressed Baltimoreans Friday about how they can stop the spread of COVID-19 and get back to normal life even before a vaccine is made available.
Baltimore was recently listed among 10 coronavirus hot spots around the country by the White House's Dr. Deborah Birx.
"We don't need to wait for a vaccine. We don't need to wait for a miracle therapy," Adams said. "New York City, and the state of New York, have a positivity rate of less than 1% right now."
Adams said that face mask wearing, social distancing and hand washing are key to stopping the spread of the virus -- and although its a small inconvenience, it can help the state and country reopen quickly. He called them the 3 Ws: Wash your hands, Watch your distance and Wear a mask.
"Wearing a face mask and maintaining six feet of social distance may seem like an inconvenience, but it is a small inconvenience compared to having to shut things down," he said. "So we have a choice. We can choose to keep basic public health measures like washing your hands, wearing a mask and watching your distance. And if we do that we know we can decrease threats and we know that the mayor in the health department can open more things up. Or we can choose not to heat these public health precautions, and we will continue to stay in a restricted state, and potentially see more things closed down. The power is in your hands."
Adams said hard-hit Italy and Spain are reopening again; they are opening schools again.
City health commissioner Dr. Letitia Dzirasa earlier Friday said on CNN's New Day that she would not feel comfortable eating indoors at a restaurant. Instead she said, she does get a lot of take-out to support businesses.
"We're in a pandemic, the likes of which none of us have ever experienced and it may be a little while before we're able to regain a true sense of normalcy and I understand the desire to get back to normal, Dzirasa said at the press conference. "For right now, it's best to accept that face mask and social distancing is going to be part of our normal routine and the sooner we accept that the safer it will all be."
Baltimore Mayor Jack Young announced earlier this week that indoor dining could reopen at 25% capacity after closing indoor dining two weeks ago when COVID-19 cases spiked in the city. He also tightened restrictions on other facilities.
Adams spent the day touring the Baltimore Convention Center's coronavirus field hospital and applauded the city's efforts to address the pandemic with public-private partnerships.
"The city's response to COVID-19 has truly been a team effort and we appreciate the continued collaboration with the state and our local health systems throughout the pandemic in an effort to protect our most vulnerable," Dzirasa said.
Both Adams and Dzirasa addressed Baltimore's youth saying many aren't adhering to social distancing or mask wearing.
They also talked about large family gatherings being the biggest source of spread in the city.
"Now is the time to hold off on these large gatherings, if we do the right things now, we can get back to some sense of normal by Thanksgiving by Christmas. We can have these family gatherings again," Adams said. "But the last thing we want to do is to be at Thanksgiving, or at Christmas talking about a loved one who passed away, because they came to a summer cookout a summer picnic at our house."
Adams is a University of Maryland, Baltimore County graduate.
For the latest information on coronavirus go to the Maryland Health Department's website or call 211. You can find all of WJZ's coverage on coronavirus in Maryland here.
