WH Adviser Scott Atlas Apologizes For Interview With Kremlin-Backed News Outlet

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Dr. Scott Atlas, pictured at a White House news conference in September, said on Sunday that he regrets doing an interview with RT, and extended an apology to the national security community. The Russian state-controlled media outlet has been registered as a foreign agent in the U.S. since 2017.

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U.S. Adds Almost 100,000 New Coronavirus Cases In 1 Day As Colder Weather Sets In

He also said protective measures like mask wearing and social distancing are «creating a generation of neurotic children, and said one in four Americans ages 18-24 thought of taking their lives in June because of lockdowns.

(The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that young adults reported «considerably elevated adverse mental health conditions associated with COVID-19 in general.)

As the country climbs towards a third coronavirus peak, with cases and hospitalizations on the rise, public health officials are urging Americans to take precautions like wearing masks, social distancing and avoiding being indoors with people outside your household whenever possible.

And in recent days, countries including Spain, Italy, Germany and England have reimposed lockdowns and other restrictions in an effort to get the virus under control.

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Atlas, a radiologist, joined the White House as a coronavirus adviser in August and has since drawn scrutiny for circulating misinformation and reportedly promoting the controversial theory of «herd immunity.

Last month, Twitter removed a post by Atlas in which he falsely stated that masks do not offer protection from the virus.

The incident comes a day after Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, criticized Atlas in an interview with The Washington Post.

«I have real problems with that guy, Fauci said. «He’s a smart guy who’s talking about things that I believe he doesn’t have any real insight or knowledge or experience in. He keeps talking about things that when you dissect it out and parse it out, it doesn’t make any sense.

In September, Fauci suggested Atlas was an «outlier on the White House Coronavirus Task Force, a characterization that Atlas responded to in Saturday’s interview.

«I’m proud to be an outlier, especially when the in-liers are completely wrong, Atlas said.

The U.S. recorded its highest single-day increase in COVID-19 cases to date on Friday, with 99,321 cases and 1,030 deaths.