Fauci says US risks more cases
WASHINGTON: The US is “going in the wrong direction” in its effort to contain the novel coronavirus and daily case counts could more than double if behaviours don’t change, infectiousdisease expert Anthony Fauci said on Tuesday.
Pinpointing indoor gatherings, particularly bar scenes with lines out the door and patrons standing shoulder to shoulder, Dr Fauci told a senate panel that new cases of Covid-19 could rise to 100,000 a day, up from the current level of about 40,000.
Several southern and western states are seeing surging new case numbers, prompting some to put reopening plans on hold. Hospitalisations have increased in 12 states, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield told members of the Senate health committee. Florida’s Miami-Dade County reported its highest numbers of hospitalisations, intensive-care patients and ventilator use in at least two months. In Houston, ICUs hit 97% of normal capacity on Tuesday.
“The numbers speak for themselves. I’m very concerned. I’m not satisfied with what’s going on because we’re going in the wrong direction,” Dr Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said. “Clearly we are not in total control right now.”
He declined to estimate the number of potential deaths from the virus but said, “It is going to be very disturbing, I guarantee you that.”
Texas reported a record in new cases on Tuesday and California its secondbiggest daily jump. Both states took steps recently to rein in the new surge, with California requiring masks and Texas closing bars.
On Monday, Arizona paused operations at bars and cinemas.