Birx: Coronavirus surge in California, Florida and Texas creates "essentially 3 New Yorks"

Dr. Deborah Birx, the coordinator of the White House coronavirus task force, told NBC's "Today" on Friday that coronavirus surges in California, Florida and Texas have left the U.S. with "essentially three New Yorks."

The state of play: The U.S. cracked 4 million confirmed cases yesterday, taking only 15 days to jump from 3 million. That surge was largely driven by ballooning caseloads in those states — even as their situation has stabilized in recent days.

What she's saying:

"I just want to make it clear to the American public — what we have right now are essentially three New Yorks with these three major states. And so, we're really having to respond as an American people, and that's why you hear us calling for masks and increased social distancing to really stop the spread of this epidemic."