The US coronavirus pandemic is not headed in a positive direction, but it is possible to balance the yearning to reopen with precautions that can help delay the spread of the coronavirus, said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. an interview with JAMA on Thursday.
“I think it is pretty obvious that we are not going in the right direction,” he said.
On Wednesday, more than 50,000 New infections were reported in the U.S., and at least 23 U.S. states had paused or reversed reopening plans.
Fauci said it is not about supporting the reopening or supporting public health measures. “There is a sense of an all-or-nothing phenomenon, where you’re locked up or you’re just going to say … the devil can care and let it go,” he said.
“The best way, as a vehicle to open the country safely, is to use public health measures wisely,” said Fauci. “It is not public health against openness.”
The guide is especially relevant as the nation enters a festive weekend amid new evidence suggesting that the virus has mutated to become more infectious.
“It appears that a particular mutation may make the virus more transmissible,” said Fauci. Research published Thursday suggests that the mutation, however, does not make people sick.
Fauci said group testing, a strategy that tests multiple samples at once, can be a useful surveillance tool. It is especially useful when there are not many cases of viruses in a community.
“If you have a situation where you have very low penetrance, but you want to make sure it’s low, it’s much better to do group tests than to test and do individual tests in the community,” he said. “Save resources. Save time. Save equipment and save money. “
Fauci said group tests, along with intermittent evaluation, could be helpful when universities reopen in the fall.
For elementary schools, he recommended making decisions based on viral activity within particular regions. “Within the scope of a prudent assessment of children’s safety and impact on the community, we must try our best to get children back to school,” he said.
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