Washington, May 8 (RHC)-- The Associated Press reports a 17-page report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offering step-by-step advice to local leaders on when and how to reopen public places has been shelved, with one CDC official saying the document “would never see the light of day.” 

On Capitol Hill, the House Appropriations Committee heard testimony Wednesday from two medical experts who said not a single state or territory in the United States has met all of the White House’s own criteria for safely reopening. 

Dr. Caitlin Rivers, a professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, said states lack adequate diagnostic testing and the capacity to carry out contact tracing.  And she warned that many of the states that are reopening have rising rates of coronavirus infections.

Caitlin Rivers said: “It’s clear to me that we are in a critical moment of this fight.  We risk complacency in accepting the preventable deaths of 2,000 Americans each day.  We risk complacency in accepting that our healthcare workers do not have what they need to do their jobs safely.  And we risk complacency in recognizing that without continued vigilance, we will again create the conditions that led to us being the worst-affected country in the world.”

Not testifying Wednesday was Dr. Anthony Fauci, a top infectious disease scientist on the coronavirus task force, who was barred by the White House from appearing before the House Appropriations Committee.