Ex-FDA chief Scott Gottlieb warns of uptick in coronavirus infections after widespread protests

The coronavirus has disproportionately impacted African Americans, as well as Hispanic and Latino Americans, which Gottlieb said is a "symptom of broader racial inequities" that need to be resolved.

Higher rates of coronavirus infections among these communities, he said, stem from socioeconomic factors and issues related to housing, occupations and reliance on public transportation.

The higher rate of deaths from the coronavirus, Gottlieb said, can be attributed to "poor access to health care, a mistrust of the health care system, some discrimination in health care.".

"Stopping the pandemic is going to depend on our ability to take care of our most medically and socially vulnerable," Gottlieb said.

Gottlieb said resources like testing should be deployed to communities disproportionately affected by the coronavirus and said workers should be reassured that if they become infected, their jobs will be waiting once they recover and return to work.

But Gottlieb said now is not the right time to leave the WHO, especially as countries in the Southern Hemisphere that rely on the agency are now seeing a spike in coronavirus cases.