Coronavirus: Former top US health official says America is not ready to start easing social distancing guidelines

Authorities need to vastly expand the resources necessary to trace the contacts of infected individuals, said the former director of the CDC

Current federal guidelines have restrictions in place until April 30

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Police officers enforce social distancing as dozens of people stand in line outside of Seatide Fish & Lobster market in Queens, New York on April 10. Photo: Getty Images via AFP

Published: 2:53am, 14 Apr 2020Updated: 7:31am, 14 Apr 2020

America’s former top public health official warned on Monday that Covid-19 testing and contact tracing capacities in the US are far below what is necessary to safely start easing social distancing guidelines that have slowed the spread of the respiratory illness.

While the government works to expand testing and resolve a high degree of false negatives, authorities also need to vastly expand the resources necessary to trace the contacts of infected individuals, said Dr Tom Frieden, who was director of the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) until 2017.

“If we’re not ready, [Covid-19] will come roaring back and unfortunately this virus has an open field run,” Frieden said in a live-stream with health news website STAT.

“We’re recognising how formidable this enemy is that it is quite infectious and quite deadly. And really, the more we learn about it, the more fearsome it appears.”

Frieden’s warning echoed similar messaging by the World Health Organisation (WHO), which held a press conference from Geneva earlier on Monday.