Azar: Science and Data ‘Do Not Support’ Lockdown, Schools and Offices Don’t Cause ‘Major Spread’

On Thursday’s broadcast of the Fox News Channel’s “The Story,” Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said that science and data “simply do not support the notion of locking down the country,” and that colleges, children in K-12 schools, air travel, healthcare settings, and “normal workplaces” are not things that cause “major spread of disease.”

Azar said, “I do think we should be driven by science and data and the facts here, and they simply do not support the notion of locking down the country, sheltering in place. You know, it’s important the American people know the facts, and the simple facts are that our colleges are not mechanisms for major spread of disease. Our kids in K-12 are not mechanisms of major — we’re not seeing those as settings for major spread of disease. Our normal workplaces are not settings for major spread of disease. Air travel is not a setting for that. Healthcare work is — our healthcare settings, going to the doctor has not been a major vector of disease.”

He added that the problem is “indoor gatherings, as we’ve gotten cold weather. We go in our houses with friends and neighbors, and we’re not protecting ourselves by watching our distance and wearing our face coverings, or getting into other indoor settings where we’re not doing those things. That’s what’s driving this.”

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