© Michael Brochstein / Echoes Wire / Barcroft Media via Getty Images
Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, speaking at a press conference on Coronavirus.- Michael Brochstein / Echoes Wire / Barcroft Media via Getty Images
- Dr. Anthony Fauci, the United States’ leading infectious disease expert, said this week that the United States is not headed in a positive direction when it comes to controlling the spread of the new coronavirus.
- “I think it is pretty obvious that we are not going in the right direction,” Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told JAMA in an interview.
- He added that new research suggests that the virus is now more infectious than it was before, but that it doesn’t appear to be making people sick.
- The United States has seen a resurgence in new cases since several states began reopening earlier than recommended.
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The country’s top infectious disease expert said Thursday that the United States is not heading in a positive direction when it comes to controlling the new coronavirus pandemic.
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“I think it is pretty obvious that we are not going in the right direction,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told JAMA in an interview.
Later, Fauci referred to the heated debate between Democrats and Republicans over whether US states need to stop or continue to move forward with reopening plans amid a renewed surge in infections.
“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.
Fauci also said that research suggests the virus is now more infectious than it was before, but it doesn’t necessarily make people sick.
On Friday, the US reported 51,842 new cases, making it the third consecutive day that the country reported more than 50,000 new infections.
The World Health Organization declared the new coronavirus a pandemic in March. The United States has reported a total of 2,795,437 cases of the disease and 129,438 deaths. The country saw a gradual decline in new cases after each state imposed some form of social distancing mandate or closed companies to stem the rapid spread of the virus.
But the number of new cases began to increase again after several states decided to reopen earlier than recommended.
White House guidelines say states should see a two-week decrease in new cases or a two-week decrease in their share of positive tests for coronavirus before reopening. But according to The New York Times, 18 of the 30 states that began reopening as of May 7 still saw a daily increase in new cases, while nine of the 30 states had no decrease in their percentage of positive tests.
Six states reopened without meeting any of the criteria: Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Nebraska, Utah, and Iowa.
Florida, Texas, Arizona and California reported a record number of new cases this week; According to CNN, Florida reported nearly 9,500 new cases on Friday, and Texas reported 7,555 new cases after reporting around 8,000 new cases on two consecutive days.
Florida reports more new cases per day, on average, than any other state, CNN said, with California and Texas second and third, respectively.
Multiple states have paused their reopening plans to mitigate the spread of the disease, while others have taken additional precautions to ensure they don’t see a resurgence of new cases within their borders. Earlier this week, New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut jointly announced that people coming from eight states with a large number of new cases should be quarantined for two weeks.
Democratic lawmakers have teamed up with public health officials to once again call for more stringent social distancing guidelines to continue to curb the spread of the coronavirus, while many Republicans say continued blockade measures will affect the U.S. economy.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has sent mixed messages on handling the crisis. He touted the United States’ largest testing capabilities, but has also repeatedly said that more tests are “overrated” and make the country “look bad.”
Last month, he held indoor demonstrations in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Phoenix, Arizona, in which supporters were not required to wear masks or follow social distancing guidelines. Six Tulsa employees tested positive for the virus before Trump took the stage, and two more employees tested positive after returning to Washington, DC.
According to the Washington Post, dozens of Secret Service agents also had to be quarantined after the Tulsa rally because two of the six people who tested positive before the rally were part of the agency.
Oklahoma also saw an increase in new cases in the days following the Trump rally in Tulsa; and Arizona, where Trump addressed the Students for Trump organization at an indoor event in Phoenix, is also a new entry point for the resurgence of the virus.
On Friday, the president held an Independence Day fireworks celebration at the Mount Rushmore National Memorial. Kimberly Guilfoyle, senior advisor to the Trump campaign, who is also a girlfriend of Donald Trump Jr., tested positive for COVID-19 before the event began and is now self-isolating.
Meanwhile, the European Union has banned all travelers from the US, as it begins to reopen its borders cautiously because EU officials don’t believe the country has done adequate work to control the coronavirus outbreak. . Travelers from Brazil and Russia will also not be able to enter the region.
Video: Fauci’s ‘cautiously optimistic’ Covid vaccine ready for early 2021 (Bloomberg)
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