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A Top White House Coronavirus Advisor Calls Images Of Protests 'Devastatingly Worrisome'

Protestors trying to enter the Michigan House of Representative chamber on April 30 and kept out by the state police. (Jeff Kowalsky/AFP via Getty Images

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The coordinator for White House coronavirus response efforts says it is "devastatingly worrisome" to see crowds of demonstrators protesting stay-at-home orders while also refusing to follow social distancing guidelines or wear masks.

Asked about demonstrations last week where crowds swarmed Michigan's capitol building — some, brandishing firearms — Dr. Deborah Birx told Fox News' Chris Wallace that protesters may inadvertently jeopardize the health and lives of their family members:

"It's devastatingly worrisome to me personally because if they go home and infect their grandmother or their grandfather who has a co-morbid condition, and they have a serious or ... an unfortunate outcome, they will feel guilty for the rest of our lives."

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Demonstrators cross the street near the Huntington Beach pier May 1. (Sharon McNary/LAist)

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