Vice President Mike Pence asserted Friday that “all 50 states and territories across this country are opening up safely and responsibly” even as cases surge in many states, and eight states across the country have paused their reopening efforts.
One state, Texas, has even scaled back their reopening plan, closing bars after they had been a part of the states reopening plan.
Pence said at the White House coronavirus task force briefing Friday that the country has “made truly remarkable progress in moving our nation forward” and that “we've all seen the encouraging news as we open up America again.”
His remarks come as 32 states across the country have seen an increase in cases over the past week, according to data from John Hopkins University.
Pence also discussed the return of jobs that came with reopening America, and said that some of the original coronavirus hotspots such as the New York metro area and New Orleans have made “extraordinary progress.”
He said the task force is focusing on 16 states that have been most impacted by coronavirus in recent weeks with both rising cases and rising positivity rates.
Pence also repeated the President's refrain that more testing has led to more cases, however the rise in new cases has outpaced the increase in coronavirus testing.
“To one extent or another, the volume of new cases coming in is a reflection of a great success in expanding testing across the country,” Pence said.
Pence said that while the US has made progress, the country “still has work to do.”
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