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Masked cashier rings up purchases behind a plexiglass shield at Stop and Shop grocery store during an outbreak of the COVID-19 coronavirus, Little Neck, Queens, New York City, New York, April 3, 2020.
- Americans should avoid frequent trips to the grocery store and pharmacy amid the coronavirus pandemic, Brett Giroir, assistant secretary for health at the US Department of Health and Human Services, said Monday on NBC's "Today" show.
- In most states across the country, grocery stores and pharmacies are some of the only businesses that remain open as state orders have closed businesses deemed non-essential.
- "If we let our foot off the gas and start doing things that are ill-advised, we can have another peak in a few weeks," Girior said.
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US health officials recommend that Americans avoid frequent trips to the grocery store and pharmacies in an effort to reduce their risk of contracting COVID-19 as the pandemic is predicted to worsen in parts of the country this week.
Brett Giroir, Assistant Secretary for Health at the US Department of Health and Human Services made the recommendation Monday on NBC's "Today" show.
"We are all saying the same thing," Giroir told "Today" anchor Savannah Guthrie. "You really need to keep your physical contact with others and with surfaces to the minimal possible."
He added: "That does not mean go without medications. If you need to go to the pharmacy to get your medications if you need to get groceries - do it. But don't go every day to the grocery store like many people do. Do it as infrequently possible."
There are at least 337,971 reported cases of COVID-19 in the US and at least 9,654 from the disease, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University. The US has dealt with the largest outbreak of the virus worldwide.
"Anything you can do to protect yourself to avoid getting this virus and being in the hospital for a month or potentially facing death, I think it's advised to do that," Giroir said.
The best time to visit grocery stores to avoid large crowds is in the early morning hours, according to consumer data studies, and mid-afternoon hours are the most crowded.
Giroir's Monday comments about grocery stores and pharmacies reiterate comments made by Dr. Deborah Birx, who serves as the White House coronavirus response coordinator.
"The next two weeks are extraordinarily important," Birx said Saturday. "This is the moment to not be going to the grocery store, not going to the pharmacy, but doing everything you can to keep your family and your friends safe."
On Sunday, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, said the US did not have have the outbreak "under control."
"This is going to be a bad week," Fauci said Sunday on CBS's "Face the Nation." "If you look at the projections of the curves and the kinetics of the curves, we're going to continue to see an escalation, but also we should hope within a week, maybe a little bit more, we'll start to see a flattening of the curve and coming down."
In many parts of the country, grocery stores and pharmacies are some of the only businesses that remain open as states and cities across the country have placed residents on "stay at home" orders that close non-essential businesses and prohibit gatherings of people. About 90% of people in the US are under some sort of similar "stay at home" order, according to a previous Business Insider report.
Health experts and public officials - including President Trump - have warned the upcoming weeks are expected to be particularly challenging as data suggests a rise in deaths from COVID-19 in hotspots like New York City. At least 4,000 people in New York City are on ventilators, Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Sunday. He said around 1,000 more could be in need of one by Tuesday or Wednesday.
"This will be probably the toughest week between this week and next week," Trump said on Saturday.
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"Don't go every day to the grocery store like many people do. ... Anything you can do to protect yourself to avoid yourself from getting this virus and being in the hospital for a month or potentially facing death, I think it's advised to do that." @HHS_ASH pic.twitter.com/KFvmvkQJlf
- TODAY (@TODAYshow) April 6, 2020