Dr. Birx calls protests 'devastatingly worrisome' amid coronavirus pandemic

WASHINGTON -- White House coronavirus coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx is calling it "devastatingly worrisome" to see protesters in Michigan and elsewhere not wear masks or practice social distancing as they demonstrate against stay-at-home orders.

Birx was responding to the hundreds of protesters who crowded the Michigan statehouse last week to push for a reopening of businesses.

She tells "Fox News Sunday" that people "will feel guilty for the rest of our lives" if they pick up the virus because they didn't take precautions and then unwittingly spread it to family members who are especially vulnerable to severe illness due to preexisting conditions or older age.

Protests took place in several states over the weekend amid growing frustration over the economic impact from stay at home orders during the coronavirus outbreak.

Birx says: "We need to protect each other at the same time we're voicing our discontent."