Dr. Deborah Birx specifically mentioned millennials during a briefing on the coronavirus Monday, calling them "the core group" to stop the outbreak.

Birx, who serves as the coordinator of the White House Coronavirus (COVID-19) Task Force, alluded to scenes from over the weekend of young people partying in cities across the country.

"I want to speak particularly to our largest generations now, our millennials," Birx said. "I am the mom of two wonderful millennial young women who are bright and hard working, and I will tell you what I told to them: they are the core group that will stop this virus."

"They are the group that communicates successfully independent of picking up a phone. They intuitively know how to contact each [other] without being in a large social gatherings."

Later, when asked by a reporter to specify, Birx said, "Now why do I think the millennials are key? They're the ones who are out and about."

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Dr. Deborah Birx, who serves as the coordinator of the White House coronavirus task force, said during a press conference on Monday that millennials are "the core group that will stop the virus."

"I want to speak particularly to our largest generations now, our millennials," Birx said. "I am the mom of two wonderful millennial young women who are bright and hard working, and I will tell you what I told to them: they are the core group that will stop this virus.

"They are the group that communicates successfully independent of picking up a phone," she continued. "They intuitively know how to contact each [other] without being in a large social gatherings."

Her remarks came after President Donald Trump called on Americans tolimit all social gatheringsto no more than 10 people.

Birx, who was a colonel in the US Army as a physician before retiring to work on HIV/AIDS vaccine research, later specified that she was referring to millennials going out to bars and restaurants.

Over the weekend, scenes emerged of young people crowding bars despite the severity of the virus becoming clear.

"Now why do I think the millennials are key?" Birx told a reporter. "They're the ones who are out and about."

She noted that many young people may not experience symptoms, but they can still transmit the virus to older Americans.

"We're protecting the Greatest Generation right now, and the children of the Greatest Generation," she said. "And [millennials] need to communicate with each other."