Fauci: Failure to use masks may worsen surge

The nation could see a “surge superimposed upon that surge we are already in” if Americans fail to wear masks in public and cut down on gatherings, Dr. Anthony Fauci said Sunday.

“We’re entering into what’s really a precarious situation,” Fauci said on “Meet the Press.”

Fauci said the country could see a winter of staggering infections, hospitalizations and even deaths. He blamed holiday travel and gatherings in advance of Thanksgiving for the latest dismal statistics.

“What we expect unfortunately as we go for the next couple of weeks into December, that we might see a surge superimposed on upon that surge we are already in,” he said. “I don’t want to frighten people, except to say it is not too late at all for us to do something about this.”

In November, the nation recorded more than 4 million new cases, and on Friday, the U.S. surpassed 200,000 daily cases of the first time. Current hospitalizations have climbed to a record 91,635.

Overall, the U.S. has recorded more than 13.2 million cases and over 266,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data. Worldwide, there have been 62 million cases and 1.4 million deaths.

Experts: Virus numbers could be erratic

Testing numbers that have guided much of the response to the pandemic are likely to be erratic over the next week or so, experts said Friday, as fewer people got tested during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend and testing sites observed shorter hours.

“I just hope that people don’t misinterpret the numbers and think that there wasn’t a major surge as a result of Thanksgiving, and then end up making Christmas and Hanukkah and other travel plans,” said Dr. Leana Wen, a professor at George Washington University and an emergency physician.

Johns Hopkins University reported a high of more than 2 million tests a few days before Thanksgiving as people prepared to travel, but that number had dropped to fewer than 1.2 million tests on Thanksgiving Day. The latter number, as well as positive case numbers, which had dropped by about a third Friday, could be adjusted as more results are returned.

Birx: Young people should be tested

Young people who partied with friends or otherwise gathered in recent weeks should not go home to family without wearing a mask, even indoors, White House Coronavirus Task Force coordinator Deborah Birx said Sunday. Birx said cities with rising infection totals should close spaces where people cannot wear masks, such as bars and restaurants.

“If you are young and you gathered, you need to be tested about five to 10 days later,” Birx said on “Face the Nation.” “You need to assume you are infected and not go near your grandparents or aunts or others without a mask.”

NYC to begin reopening schools

New York City’s public schools will start offering in-person classes on Dec. 7, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Sunday. Most preschool, 3-K programs and elementary schools are expected to start that date, followed by schools that provide special education on Dec. 10. No date was revealed for middle and high school classes. Hybrid learning was shut down Nov. 19 after the citywide rate of coronavirus tests exceeded a 3% benchmark agreed to by the mayor and teachers’ union.

The mayor said the benchmark will be scrapped in favor of a focus on testing at schools. The city will move toward five days per week classes and phase out the hybrid model for the 1.1 million-student district, the mayor said.

“We are convinced we can keep schools safe and do it in a sustainable manner,” de Blasio said. “This will be the model for the duration. This will take us through until we have a vaccine.”

Court backs Ky. rule at religious schools

A federal appeals court has upheld Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear’s order halting in-person classes at public and private, religious-based schools amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The ruling Sunday overturns a U.S. District judge’s temporary injunction that would have allowed religious schools to continue having students meet in classrooms.

The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit said Beshear’s executive order halting in-person classes at K-12 schools – public and private – until early January can stand because it also applies to public schools and is a legal response to the COVID-19 emergency.

Colo. governor tests positive for virus

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis and first gentleman Marlon Reis have tested positive for the coronavirus. Polis had been in quarantine since Wednesday evening after finding out he was exposed to someone who tested positive. In a statement released Saturday night, Polis said he and Reis were asymptomatic and will isolate at home. He urged Coloradans to limit public interactions, to wear a mask in public, stay 6 feet from others and wash hands.

“Marlon and I are feeling well so far, and are in good spirits,” Polis said. “No person or family is immune to this virus.”