Today, Vice President mike pence visited texas and spoke with Texas Governor greg abbott about the increase in coronavirus in that state. I want to welcome everybody , and i here today especially want to welcome the Vice President of the United States mike pence. Thank you for being here today. I went like to just start by peeling back the curtain and explaining the way that mike pence has been working with the governors across the United States. We have this week we phone call that will include the Vice President as well as dr. Birx but in addition to that, probably at least once a week i will have the opportunity to visit with the Vice President about challenges are issues that may be occurring in the state of texas. Calling him. Is me sometimes late at night or on the weekend talking about i need that we have or something we need to focus on or other times it will be him calling me. You might remember on fathers day. You called me and just wanted the lay of the land. And we got to share happy fathers day. With each other as we are working on protecting fathers and mothers and children across the state of texas. Mr. Vice president , i want to thank you and thanks the administration all of your great team members for what you have done to help texas as we navigate our way through the conquering of covid19. Speaking of which, i want to share couple of things. As everybody knows, during the course of april, texans joined together with our fellow americans to focus on slowing the spread. We did exactly that. And that is what led to the beginning of the opening of businesses in the state of texas and then after the opening was announced on april 27 we continue to reduce the spread of covid19 and the state of texas so much so that all the way until the 26 or 27 of may we went to the lowest Positivity Rate we ever achieved during the course of this pandemic. 4. 27 of the time to covid19 has taken a very swift and very dangerous turn in texas over just the past few weeks. Over just the past few weeks with daily number of cases has toe from an average of 2000 more than 5000 the day. At the same time hospitalizations have increased from about 2000 and day to more than 5000 and day. In the Positivity Rate that just ismonth ago was at 4. 27 now well over 13 . One thing i said from the very beginning. And that is that texas will follow data in making decisions about how we move forward. One thing i declared early on is we would be looking at that Positivity Rate because the Positivity Rate shows us a measurement of the way in which there is Community Spread in texas. And with the Positivity Rate of over 10 i declared early on it would be an alarm bell for texas to take action to rein in the spread of covid19. That is exactly what we began to announce this past week. To ensure that we are taking specific identified inion that can target ways which we can reduce the spread of covid19. Here is what i know. What i know is that texans working together. We were able to slow the spread of covid19 in april. And in may. Alli know that once again texans coming together and working together, we will once again slow the spread of covid19. The need of sods many families in the state to ensure they have the ability to provide for their livelihoods. Families need to put food on the table and pay rent. They need to take care of their families. We want them to be able to do that. ,nd we know we can do that continue to allow businesses to open while containing the coronavirus but it does require all texans to go back to those strategies remastered. Wearing face masks. Sanitizing your hands. Keeping a safe distance. And remembering this and that is if you do not need to get out, there is no reason to go out. At this particular time. If you can keep your distance from others, that is a very good faith place to be, and that is especially true for anybody who hands is5 or older and in a more vulnerable data set. One thing remarkable about taxes increaseis despite the in the spread of the coronavirus texas still has the Second Lowest death rate of the top 27 most affected states in the country. Lives of oure fellow texans. The lust all come together and all Work Together to make sure we do all we can to continue to protect the lives of our fellow texans. These, worn bye everybody, in the coming days to make sure that we will protect those lives and we will slow the spread of covid19. Has been a partner with us in this effort, who has provided guidance and help and support every step of the way, someone without whose help we really would not be having a successful response to covid19 is the Vice President of the United States, Vice President mike pence. Thank you for your friendship. Thank you for your leadership. Vice president pence thank you for those good words. Thank you for your leadership. From the very outset of the coronavirus pandemic, the White House Coronavirus task force represented here today by dr. Deborah birx and secretary ben carson. Has been working very closely with your administration, and we are grateful for the partnership that we forged. President trump wanted us to be here today with the developments over the last two weeks, the rising positivity and the rising number of cases, with a very simple message, and that is to you and the people of texas, we are with you. And we are going to stay with you. We going to make sure that texas and your Health Care System in texas have the resources, have the supplies, have the personnel to meet this moment. The governor and i also talked about the vital importance of testing. Texas is testing at an enormous scale across the state, but in our briefing today we spoke about how we can accelerate testing, accelerate returns on testing and we will carry that back tonight to the Coronavirus Task force as well as to our private partners, Companies Like labcorp and qwest to make sure that texas has the resources to identify this moment. This has been a helpful ground report. And we are going to take back the specific requests, governor, you forwarded to us, but i want to also acknowledge that all along the way from the time we first unveiled the 45 days to slow the spread, cases in positivity in texas were low and study. You flatten to the curve in texas, a tribute to the people of this great state. About two weeks ago something changed. Get a report to from you directly about that. And make sure that you have the council, the resources, and the support to meet this moment. I also want to commend the governor for your decisive , reopening this economy which began in early may. To your leadership and the steady progress in putting texas back to work. Something every texan can be proud of. But with the development of these new cases, as you said to 5000 a 2000 a day day, Positivity Rate going from we are grateful, governor, you have taken the to limit have taken the kind of gatherings and meeting in certain places in communities that may well be can contributing to Community Spread we are seeing in texas and in states like arizona and florida and let me add my voice to the governors voice to say, when we issued the guidance to open up america again, we laid out a phased reopening plan. Texas took that plan and implement it it lamented it here in a responsible way but there was guidance throughout that applied to all the phases. Chief among them was people should continue to practice good hygiene, wash your hands, avoid touching your face, and wear a mask wherever it is indicated or wherever you are not able to practice the kind of social distancing that would prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Strongly reiterate that today. I know roughly half the state is under local ordinance, if your local officials in consultation with the state are directing you to wear a mask, we encourage everyone to wear a mask in the affected areas and where you cant maintain social distancing , wearing a mask is a good idea and it will, we know from experience, slow the spread of the coronavirus. Anotherpect aspect is that we are seeing in texas and florida and other affected states, significant number of younger americans that have contracted covid. It is a good thing that we know people have contracted it, not because younger americans without underlying conditions are particularly vulnerable to a series outcome, but because no american under 35 would ever want to inadvertently infect a parent, grandparent, elderly neighbor, or elderly friend. That is what i would say and friday toirx said on all of the wonderful young people in texas, is this is a moment where we have to put our arms around and protect the most vulnerable around us and particularly seniors with arerlying conditions precisely those for whom the worst outcomes occur, so as we deal with Community Spread, as we engage in a kind of the kind of steps the governor has directed in texas, we encourage particularly all of the younger americans among us, if you have a concern, whether you have symptoms or not, get tested. , it is a good time to steer clear of senior practice theto kind of measures that will keep our most vulnerable safe. Governor, i want to thank you for what you have done in this state. Has thehear that texas lowest number of fatalities of the major affected states, that is a tribute to your health care workers, to your people, and frankly to your leadership. Our objective is to keep it that way. Our objective is to save lives, as texas continues to reopen your economy and help lead this. Ountry back to work i want you to be clear, we are in this together. Governor, you know i am a phone call away. His team stands ready to work with you and to work with senator cornyn and her delegation and washington, d. C. , we will make sure texas has what andneed when you need it with your leadership, with the cooperation with the people of help, wed with gods are going to let this outbreak andlunt this outbreak protect our vulnerable and save lives. Thank you very much. With that, dr. Birx, a few religions on what we are seeing, a few reflections on what we are seeing. She and i will be traveling to other affected states over the next several days. Dr. Birx thank you. It is a privilege to be here in the great state of texas, particularly at this Medical Center. I love the motto, educate, heal, discover, because that is what has happened with our covid19 response. It just been a privilege to work with the health team and the governor. We talked about your opening plan late friday night. I think you work 20 47, late friday night, sometime at the end of april, we talked through each of the aspects of the opening plan. It was a serious and safe opening plan and you can see the impact of the opening plan and how it works out. All of may, for almost five weeks, then there was an Inflection Point and i appreciate the governor and health committees, understanding that that Inflection Point was around test positive. That seems to be our earliest indicator of new cases because we have enough testing now at the Community Level to start finding that asymptomatic in early cases and we can start seeing that increase in test positive before we see evidence of increased hospitalizations. Isis good to know that that an alert system that we can trust and an alert system that we can trust as you begin to control this. We had a great meeting with the Health Commissioner and your Health Leadership at this Medical Center and i think what raised the concern that has been raised, what is happening now is different than what was happening through april and may where you were having outbreaks that were quickly contained because they were in a nursing home or prison or meatpacking plant. Or 16w, over the last 15 days, it has taken on a different aspect through texas and you can see it in harris primarily,ris county you can see the rate of increase is enormous right now and you can see it in bear county and travis county. Dallas is more steady in its rate of increase, but in talking to your medical group and to all the texans, what we are seeing here is an increased rate of hospitalization of 20 to 40yearold. That really tells us that there is a lot of infection in the 2040yearold. That is the primary asymptomatic group but what it tells us in that asymptomatic spread, it is hitting those vulnerable 20 to 40yearolds. Maybe a little obesity, maybe type 2 diabetes. When you are out with your friends i want to thank the governor for his action on the bars and appealing to every. Exan to wear a mask we know now, there is Scientific Evidence that masks both keep you from infecting others, but may also partially protect you from getting infected. I think that is a New Discovery and new finding and it is encouraging to texans to know that you can protect one another. I know it is difficult in the 20s and thirtysomethings, but to ask everyone to them to ask a mask to wear a mask. If they are interacting with their parents and grandparents, they should wear a mask then too. We know how many are asymptomatic and no one wants to pass the virus to others but we see from this Medical Center that you have 20 to 40yearolds in the icu. Most likely, they will recover because texas has done well, but we have to protect one another. I came here with the Vice President to hear what was happening at the ground level, to get a report, because in the end, it is communities that. This epidemic with great state leadership and we are grateful to be here and to learn from you wall and to take that back from you all and take that back, take the best practices of closing the bars and following the impact. By getting masks hundred percent the blinds in harris county, travis county, and see that impact. We have additional tools that we did not have just two months ago. We have different tools to prevent the spread with masks and social distancing. We know with closing the bars we also have Better Therapeutics and better knowledge about how to save peoples lives. We have a different toolset to bring to the people of texas to curve the epidemic and stop the spread here, as well as ensure everyone and the hospital does well. Thank you for the opportunity to meet your staff, thank you for your staff coming in on a sunday, spending time with me, im deep really im deeply grateful. Vice president pence dr. Carson. Sec. Carson it is wonderful to be back here. I have not been here for a long time. Ut southwestern has a welldeserved excellent reputation. I want to thank you again, mr. Vice president , mr. Vice president , for the tremendous leadership of the Coronavirus Task force that has made a tremendous difference, it is wonderful working with governors like you, governor abbott, who aptly Pay Attention to data and who are willing to be flexible for the sake of the people. It makes a big difference because some people get in their lane and they stay there no matter what is going on. Dr. Birx is the only person i know who works longer and harder than the president , doesnt sleep. We appreciate that hard work for all the people on the task force. As a congressional represent it if, senator cornyn, come it is tribute is there as well. Tremendous contributions there as well. We have learned and in no mice amount about this virus over the past few months an enormous amount about this virus over the past few months. It is an evolving process. We are learning more each day. Havemportant thing is we learned a lot about how it spreads. I dont think there are many adults in this country who dont know about the handwashing techniques that should be g,ployed, about the maskin about social distancing. The problem is people arent doing it. This is actually within the hands of the citizens of this country. We get to determine how long this thing is going to pledge us. It is like a battery, a rechargeable battery. Every time it can infect somebody, it gets new life. Thing and it right is not infecting a lot a people, it dies down. We get a chance to affect that the way we want to. We want freedom, particularly in but you have to look at the longterm freedom. If we beat this thing back now, we get a lot more freedom in the long run. I think we are on the way. We just need to do that information, everybody in this sphere of influence, and to be the example. Vice president pence thank you. Senator . Start byyn let me saying, thank you for being here, u. N. Dr. Birx and dr. Carson, this is reassuring to the 29 Million People who call texas home because there is a lot of uncertainty, a lot of, a lot of fear, and i think, dealing with the facts and data, we can reassure the people of texas that we will get through this and get through this together. Ivernor, let me say how proud am of the job you and your team have done. I have known you long enough that you dont make rash or emotional decisions, you do it based on the facts and this is, as we were discussing, like trying to design and build an airplane while you are flying it because things that we sought that we thought were true proved not to be, things we didnt know we now know. It is a big deal that you are here, Vice President , demonstrates the commitment that you and President Trump and administration are making to the people of texas and the people of our country. Let me just say, there are a couple things i heard today that stand out. One is, when you turned to governor abbott, you said, whatever you need. Whatever you need. There is not going to be lack of Resources Available to kill this virus and get life back to whatever the new normal is. I think dr. Carson must have some texan in his roots because i heard him saying we will dominate this virus, not let it dominate us. There is nothing more texan than that sort of attitude, so thank you for mentioning that. Finally, i would just say, the message i think you have heard today and you continue to hear from the Vice President in dr. Birx and the task force is a properly and with prudence is called for. Panic is not called for. That is what i see happening here, across the state and across the country. We will dominate the virus and it will not dominate us. Thank you. Vice president pence thanks, senator. Questions . Wondering, with the and positivity right rising hospitalizations rising in texas, why is the federal government only pledging to extend funding for Community Test sites for two weeks, why not longer . When wesident pence stood up testing early on, we established a number of , fivelly operated sites states those were conducted in. Consultedeks ago, we with the Governors Office about transitioning what i think were six sites out of more than 600 sites that texas is operating and operating with the private sector. In consultation with the governor and at the urging of both of your senators, we will be extending that as long as texas wants us to. This is all hands on deck. We are going to make sure not only do we continue the testing at those five sites, but the governor needs additional Public Resources to expand testing that will be made available. We are encouraged on the supply side that in talking with new kid and a team in texas, on personal protective equipment, critical supplies that texas believes they have an abundant amount of supplies, we told them that as we continue to build the national stockpile, as we continue to operate our efforts at the federal level, we will make sure and backfill anything texas needs in that respect. At this point, i think governor, you informed us, you suspended elective surgery in four counties, but it was encouraging to hear that only 20 of patients in texas hospitals today have covid, which means hospitals have a great deal of ability to expand their capability here. We will make sure that is the case. On the testing front, there was a routine winding down of those first test sites that were operated by the Public Health frankly that was those decisions were set into motion before we saw what was happening and the state. We will continue them as long as texas needs. Gov. Abbott i will at that. Several weeks ago, the people is hhs to with officials in work to receive a handoff of those testing sites so the state would have operational control over not just those but the goal and capability was going to be able to expand even more testing sites and do more testing. There is going to come a day when those testing sites billy handed over from the federal government to the state with us being able to have the full capability to make sure more testing is going to be able to be achieved. I blabbed this also, a partner in this process is the Medical Center. They are working collaboratively with us, on their own programs, especially here in the dallasfort worth area to do extensive testing. There will be no shortage of testing either in texas or the vfw region. Vice president pence thank you. Blaze. Please. [inaudible] whats part of the National Response to you which had been different or could have been better . I servesident pence alongside a president who is always eyes forward. He wanted us to be in texas today. I will be in arizona and florida before the week is out. We want to focus on where we are today. When you look at the sacrifices the American People made over all 45 days of slow the spread, i think it demonstrated the resilience in the character of this country and of the people of texas. It gives us great confidence that having flattened the curve before in texas, with the steps the governor is taking, with regard to closing bars, preserving capacity by suspending elective surgery, encouraging everyone in texas to wear a mask, we encourage where ever it is indicated by local authorities as necessary or wherever anyone can engage in social distancing, it is the right idea. We are confident that we are going to get through this, but we are entirely focused right now on this moment and we are going to stay focused their today and tomorrow. Last question. The importance of wearing a does that come directly from the president . Does it undercut the message of the task force when he implies that wearing a mask could be apolitical to statement a political statement . Vice president pence the president caps me to lead the task force and part of our guidance, guidelines to open people again, encouraged to wear facial coverings, social distancing where social distancing was not possible. Our administration is promoting the practice. When the governor and i talked this week, we talked about the importance in this moment of calling on people across texas. Wear a mask. The 50 of the state that requires it locally, we encourage you to adhere to local guidance and listen to your local Health Officials because they are tracking what is happening in their Community Every day in the guidance they give about winterberry mask, when it is appropriate, when it is necessary, is important. But for anyone, if you cant maintain social distancing, if you are going to be within six feet of people for more than 15 minutes, it is a good idea to wear a mask. Birxld add, i thought dr. Made a compelling comment, with everything we see happening here , with the rise of cases, particularly among young people, if you are going to see mom and dad, if you are going to see elderly friends, a good time to wear a mask to make sure no one would inadvertently convey the coronavirus. An Important Message we are here to convey. On behalf of the administration, the White House Coronavirus task force, and the president , we will continue to do that. Governor, i want to thank you again. Thank you for your leadership. We will follow up the discussions we had. I appreciate the senators support of the cares act legislation, resources, and i will reiterate the promise decoded. That is, to you, the people of make sureare going to you have what you need when you need it. We are going to get through this. Path of the at the , everything the people of new york and new jersey and connecticut went ,hrough, new orleans, michigan and a steady state that texas managed until just the last few weeks, we are going to get through this and we will get through this together. Thank you very much, governor. Thank you all. Would you like to comment on the reports that russia put a bounty on american troops . [captions Copyright National the Senate Health committee holds a hearing tuesday to get an update on the Coronavirus Response and plans to reopen the u. S. Economy. Witnesses include task force members. Live coverage begins at 10 00 eastern on cspan3, online at cspan. Org, or listen live on the free radio app. Lawmakers recently heard from healthcare officials on how covid19 has impacted Nursing Homes. They looked into healthy recent deregulation of Nursing Homes could have been the catalyst for the spread of the virus