The director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Anthony Fauci, attends the daily coronavirus briefing in the Brady Press Press Room at the White House on April 9, 2020 in Washington, DC. Unemployment claims in the United States have approached 17 million in the past three weeks amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Alex Wong | fake pictures
White House health adviser Anthony Fauci praised New York for its handling of the coronavirus pandemic, saying the state responded “correctly” to control its outbreak.
“We know that when you do it right you take down those cases. We have done it. We have done it in New York,” Fauci said in an interview with “PBS NewsHour” that aired on Friday night.
“New York was hit worse than any other place in the world. And they did it correctly doing the things that you’re talking about,” he continued.
New York was once the epicenter of the outbreak in the United States with more than 10,000 new cases per day during its peak outbreak in April. The state has dramatically reduced new daily infections to 776 as of Thursday.
New York is one of nine US states that has the virus under control, according to the Covid Act Now monitoring project. Fewer than 1% of New Yorkers tested for the virus tested positive Thursday, down from a peak of more than 40%.
Governor Andrew Cuomo instituted some of the strictest reopening requirements in the country, insisting that stay-at-home orders remain in place and many businesses remain closed much longer than states that are now experiencing sudden increases like Texas and Florida. More than 400,000 New Yorkers have been infected with the virus since the pandemic began, and at least 32,463 people have died in the state.
New York City is slated to enter Phase 4 on Monday, the next reopening stage that allows for outdoor activities like zoos, outdoor movies, and gardens. Indoor restaurants, bars, museums and shopping malls will remain closed, Cuomo said Friday.
“I am very proud of what New Yorkers have done. But we must remain vigilant,” Cuomo tweeted.
Cuomo warned of a possible second wave of the coronavirus, as dozens of states across the country struggle with a surge in the number of confirmed coronavirus infections after quickly reopening in the spring. Last Sunday, Florida reported more than 15,000 new infections, more than New York during the peak of its outbreak.
In his comments on Friday, Fauci addressed waves across the country, urging people to wear masks and pushing for bars to be closed to limit the spread of the virus.
“Stay away from the crowds. Close the bars,” Fauci said. “You appeal to the people of the local areas, you close those bars. They are seriously the – one of the main reasons why we are seeing [the surges]”
“And I think if we do it for a couple of weeks in a row,” he continued, “I think we are going to see a change, because we know that works.”
The coronavirus outbreak has spread worldwide, with more than 14 million confirmed cases and more than 597,000 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. The United States has had more than 3.6 million cases and at least 139,302 deaths, according to the latest accounts, more than any other country.
– CNBC’s Berkeley Lovelace contributed to this report.
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