Why can’t the U.S. get control of COVID-19 infections?

As COVID cases surge, we examine why in the U.S. pandemic response has failed, what we are learning about the virus, and why Pa. needed a mask mandate.

Air Date: July 7, 2020 10:00 am

People waiting in line to enter a grocery store wear protective masks, Friday, July 3, 2020, in McCandless, Pa. Gov. Tom Wolf's more expansive mask order issued last week as the coronavirus shows new signs of life in Pennsylvania has been met with hostility from Republicans objecting to the Democrat's use of power or even to wearing a mask itself. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

Guests: Jennifer Nuzzo, John Wherry, Rachel Levine

Five months into the pandemic, coronavirus cases continue to surge around the country. All but a handful of states are seeing infection rates rising. While most European and many Asian countries have COVID-19 under control, the U.S. has been unable to keep the virus in check. Why has the U.S. failed at containing the coronavirus? And what are we learning about the virus that could help reduce infections and deaths. We’ll talk about Johns Hopkins epidemiologist JENNIFER NUZZO and with University of Pennsylvania immunologist JOHN WHERRY. But first, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf has ordered a mask mandate for residents outside their homes. We’ll speak to Pennsylvania Secretary of Health DR. RACHEL LEVINE about why the mask requirement was necessary and what it means in practice.

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