CDC Director Robert Redfield said Thursday that he's "very concerned" the agency's public health message on the coronavirus isn't "resonating" with the public as the number of cases continues to rise across the U.S.

CDC Director Robert Redfield said Thursday that he’s “very concerned” the agency’s public health message on the coronavirus isn’t “resonating” with the public as the number of cases continues to rise across the U.S.

Testifying before the House Appropriations Committee, Redfield said he sees “a lot of people” not wearing masks in Washington, D.C., where he works, while many people do wear masks in his hometown of Baltimore. Crowds of people have been seen in recent weeks at protests, over the Memorial Day holiday and, Redfield noted, at the SpaceX launch Saturday.

Huge crowds gathered at Florida’s space coast Wednesday to watch SpaceX’s first attempt at launching astronauts to space.

During the hearing, House Democrats grilled Redfield on President Donald Trump’s push for states to reopen after shutting down as part of social distancing measures meant to curb the spread of the virus.

All 50 states have begun easing quarantine restrictions even though Redfield said “not all states” have met the White House criteria for reopening businesses.

“We will continue to message as well we can,” said Redfield, who’s on the White House coronavirus task force. “We’re going to encourage people that have the ability to require to wear masks when they are in their environment to continue to do that.”

The coronavirus, which emerged about five months ago, has sickened more than 1.8 million people and killed at least 107,175 in the United States, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. While cases have slowed in hot spots such as New York state, the U.S. is still seeing roughly 20,000 new Covid-19 cases a day.

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