White House coronavirus testing czar warns the hardest-hit states may have to reverse reopening plans, says lockdowns 'should be on the table'

• The White House's coronavirus testing czar said Sunday the nation's hardest-hit states may have to reverse reopening plans and lockdown.
• "Everything should be on the table," Adm. Brett Giroir said Sunday, when asked if certain areas of the country should consider more stringent lockdowns.
• States like Florida, South Carolina, Arizona, Texas, and Georgia have seen large spikes in new cases since easing restrictions on businesses.
• Before reaching the pointing of locking back down, Giroir said states should shut down bars, limit restaurants to half-capacity, and have 90% or 95% of the population wearing masks outside.
• If hard-hit states can take those steps, they "could achieve the same results" as a more aggressive lockdown, Giroir said.

US states suffering from growing coronavirus outbreaks could have to reverse reopening plans and enter lockdown again, the a leading Trump administration public health official said Sunday.

"Everything should be on the table," said Adm. Brett Giroir, the White House's coronavirus testing czar, when asked if hard-hit states may have to take more extreme measures to contain this virus.

But Girioir, who appeared Sunday on ABC's This Week and NBC's Meet The Press, emphasized that states should first take less drastic steps that "could achieve the same results."

These states need to shut down bars, limit restaurants to 50% capacity, and have about 95% of the public wearing masks or face coverings, he said. Taking those measures would lead the virus to go away, he said.

"So I think we need to be very selective," Giroir added. "Sure, if we shut everything down again, that would do it. But we don't need to."

Giroir's comments come as many US states are seeing a surge in infections. Many southern states, like Florida, South Carolina, Arizona, Texas, and Georgia, are observing exponential increases in the number of new cases.

Giroir also said he expects deaths to increase over the next few weeks. Deaths from COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus pandemic, typically lag a few weeks behind reports of new cases.

"If you have more cases, more hospitalizations, we do expect to see [more deaths] over the next two or three weeks before this turns around," he said.