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WASHINGTON (AP) – The nation’s top infectious disease expert said Thursday that new cases of coronavirus are a certainty as states begin to tighten restrictions. States must proceed with caution as they take steps to reopen businesses and allow greater freedom of movement, said Dr. Anthony Fauci.
“We will get in trouble … no question,” Fauci told NBC’s “Today” show. “When he retires, there will be cases, and what we need to do is make sure that (the states) have the ability to identify, isolate and locate people.
Fauci urged states that do not have that ability to go very slowly. “You can’t just jump on things and get into a situation where you’re really tempting a rebound. That’s what worries me,” he said.
His warnings came a day after President Donald Trump said the federal government would not expand its social distancing guidelines last Thursday, and Trump’s son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner predicted that by July the country would be “returning to jerk”. even though health experts rate that as highly unlikely.
Trump planned to meet with Gov. Phil Murphy, D-N.J., On Thursday as the president aims to focus on the reopening process that has begun in many places.
Murphy told Fox News before leaving for Washington that he intended to discuss both test capacity and federal money with Trump for New Jersey, one of the states most affected by the pandemic.
“We need help with the here and now,” said the governor. “Educators, police, firefighters, EMS, front-line stuff. We are bleeding resources, helping people if they have lost their jobs, if they are sick, small businesses, etc. That is where we need a large dose of federal cash.”
Trump is trying to move to a different phase in the virus response as the rate of new hospitalizations and cases has slowed in many states, even as the death toll in the United States from the coronavirus has exceeded the American lives lost in The vietnam war.
The president said Wednesday that he plans to resume out-of-state travel, starting with a trip to Arizona next week, after spending more than a month locked up in the White House. He also said he hopes to hold major campaign rallies in the coming months, despite medical experts saying there is little hope of having a vaccine at the time.
Trump presented a vision of going back to pre-coronavirus times, “with or without” a vaccine, with full restaurants and full stadiums. That view runs counter to evaluations by public health experts who say the United States will have to adopt a “new normal” that includes widespread social distancing and wearing masks.
“I don’t want people to get used to this,” Trump told reporters. “I see that the new normal is what it was three months ago.”
White House spokesman Judd Deere tweeted that Trump would visit Honeywell’s Phoenix facility on Tuesday to highlight the production of “production of critical medical equipment and the addition of 500 manufacturing jobs in the state.”
That word came after Trump said he would not extend the White House guidelines “30 days to curb the spread” beyond its scheduled expiration on Thursday.
Those guidelines were originally supposed to last 15 days, but were extended an additional 30 days. They encouraged Americans to work from home and avoid restaurants, group meetings, and discretionary travel. They also advised older Americans and those with serious underlying health conditions to isolate themselves.
Vice President Mike Pence said the guidelines have been incorporated into White House guidance this month that sets out how states can gradually ease restrictions and begin reopening as the rate of new cases declines.
The White House also points to the possibility of an experimental drug, Remdesivir, which was shown to be effective against the virus in a major new study.
Fauci said the drug reduced the time it takes for patients to recover by 31%, 11 days on average versus 15 days for those who receive regular care.
“It is very significant,” said the doctor, generally cautious. “What it has shown is that a drug can block this virus.”
Meanwhile, Kushner, who has been helping lead the response efforts, said in an interview with “Fox and Friends” that the administration had “achieved all the different milestones that are needed. So the federal government accepted the challenge, and this is a great success story. “
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Associated Press writers Darlene Superville and Zeke Miller contributed to this report.
